Let Me Be Your Shield
by Dolphinlight
Summary: Corporal Zoey Henson wasn't a good soldier, but when the Arbiter notices her skills as a medic, he offers her a chance to learn from the Sangheili. It is now up to her to be their combat medic, and it isn't going to be easy. Rated T for language/violence
1. Chapter 1: Combat Medic

**Hey readers, just thought I'd say a few things before this gets started. I am writing this because I love Halo and simply for the story. I'm not good with the technical names and places of stuff so keep that in mind, I also don't know exactly when this takes place. It could be AU but if any one has any ideas on where this could fit in during the Halo time frame feel free to let me know in a review! Anyways, this story has been in my mind for a while and I thought it was time I shared it. Enjoy! **

**Disclamer: I don't own Halo...just my OCs  
**

Chapter 1: Combat Medic

You know how in battle the medics are not supposed to be fired upon by enemy soldiers? Well I can tell you now that the Covenant has either never heard of it or completely disregards that rule. When the base I was stationed at came under attack just a few seconds ago I figured that out first hand as the searing pain of a plasma bolt caught me in the arm. I scrambled to find cover while the light blue and green bolts from the alien guns whizzed over my head and around my body. I guess I was just lucky enough not to get hit again as I found a small space underneath a UNSC Warthog where I could take some cover. It wasn't like they couldn't see the bright Red Cross painted on my helmet and stitched into the arm sleeve of my uniform, so I figured they were ignoring it and I was better off where I was.

I was never very good with a gun. I almost failed out of basic training because I never could hit a target, well I might have hit a few targets but believe me they were always off their mark. I can still remember the sounds of my drill sergeant yelling at me and cussing me out when I'd screw up, which was most of the time.

I was bad with grenades too. I had this arm that always went wild when I'd throw anything. I never hit my mark and sometimes ended up landing a few frags into friendly territory. It's a good thing they weren't live rounds during practice or there would be a lot of injured fellow soldiers instead of just the generally pissed off. It was just another thing for the Sarge to yell at me for. Hell, the only reason they let me stay in is because they were short on volunteers.

Basically I was a lousy soldier and the Sarge couldn't find anything I was good at, so I was made into a combat medic.

I suppose it was the most logical choice. I did have an extensive background in biology, though the fact that it wasn't exactly human biology didn't seem to faze my superiors. As to what kind of biology I was into…let's just say that if you've ever been to a seafood restaurant, well, I studied what the waiter brings to you on the silver platters.

So they trained me up on everything I needed to know. How to dress a particular wound, what to give to a particular patient…you know the basic ease-your-pain-while-you-die-because-I can't-do-much-else for-you type of crap. Everyone knows combat medics aren't real doctors. I can't say I was very happy about being a medic because since I was a little girl I was always terrified of blood and gore. I used to get sick just looking at a minor cut, but after a few years in medic training, you get used to it. After a while I didn't even blink when someone's artery would explode in my face and cover my uniform with blood. You have to desensitize yourself to that if you want to survive and do your job.

So why did I join the marines if all I can do is bitch about it? I ask myself that every day, but I think the answer would be because of a sense of duty to the human race…and the fact that if we don't win this war, we won't even exist anymore. I figured the UNSC could use every man they could get, even a screwed up girl who can't even snipe a still target from a few feet away.

As I lay on the floor of the of the ammunitions room, crammed underneath the Warthog, I wondered why the Covenant was suddenly attacking this quiet and out of the way base and why the hell I wasn't warned about it before I got hit in the arm. This was a totally out of the blue experience for me as I didn't remember ever hearing the alert sirens or receiving word from Major Collens, the officer in charge, about an impending attack. I cursed as I remembered my arm wound and thanked God I had my medical kit with me. I was lucky that I had been on guard duty in the ammunitions room or I probably wouldn't have any of my gear at hand. After I quickly patched myself up I grabbed my sidearm and started to return fire. Not that I did much but draw attention to myself and allow the Covenant to discover my hiding place.

"Damn it, Zoey, you know better than to get in a fight without back up!" I mumbled to myself and looked around wildly to see if any other marines were in the vicinity to come save my ass. The heavy sounds of Covenant boots closed in on my position.

The base was on a planet distant from the Earth and really hadn't had much action from the beginning. I arrived shortly after my training was completed solely because I wasn't much good at anything and they needed an out of the way place to station me. Apparently this particular base was short a medic which made it an ideal place for the military to dump an incompetent soldier like me. As soon as I arrived, however, I found out quick that it was also short in female soldiers. I was alright with it, though, since the base was undermanned and the guys generally stayed clear of me because of my clumsiness and the Major's strict orders on harassment. Still, I often wished for more feminine companionship other than the battle scarred Sergeant Robins and the aggressive Captain Sawyer. You could say I was a little meek compared to them.

It now seemed like the little military base's life was over as hundreds of Covenant were pouring in and slaughtering our meager defenses. Right when I was fresh out of basic too! How could things be worse?

"_I'll tell you how they could be worse" _I thought to myself as the big booted feet of a brute came to a pause in front of my hiding place. I heard him grunt and lift the heavily armored three ton vehicle away from where I lay underneath it. I stared up in shock at the massive, hairy, monster as he tossed the Warthog to the side and seemed to leer down at me like he was certain there was no escape. All I could do was draw out my pistol and realize with anguish that even at point blank range I'd probably miss. Not that a single pistol shot would bother this bastard anyway.

It all happened so fast, but it felt like hours to me as I watched the alien weapon lower down towards my face and at the same time, out of the corner of my eye, caught the flash of another soldier ramming into the brute's side and knocking him off balance. Surprisingly, though my whole body screamed at me to move I could do nothing but lay there, repeating to myself over and over again in my head _oh my god! I was almost killed! _

"Henson! What the hell do you think you're doing! Move your ass, NOW!" I heard my rescuer, Sergeant Robins, yell at me as she came running back from quickly dispatching the brute with marine efficiency.

Her harsh voice woke me from my stupor and I scrambled to my feet and ran like hell after the already retreating Sergeant. Plasma was still flying around us and I was not about to wait around to get hit again. Once we reached the door to the rest of the base, Robins closed it and activated the automatic locks. We could hear the aliens outside, but their leader had been killed and they were in even worse disarray than usual and were trying desperately to reorganize themselves. Robins jerked her head at me in an indication for me to follow and we started off down the long hallway surrounded by blinking warning lights and sparking wires. A sound like thunder resounded from the outside of the base somewhere and made me shiver.

"What do you think you were doing girl?" the sergeant asked me as we walked. "You should have moved or shot at him or something. You're just lucky I came looking for you or you'd be dead."

"You were looking for me?"

"Well, yeah, we need a medic and frankly you're the only one we've got. We lost Genova when the Covenant first hit us. You can at least treat wounds can't ya?"

"Of course," I replied, feeling insulted.

"Just wondering. Didn't look like you could do much of anything from what I saw out there."

I remained silent for a while, she was right of course. I wasn't much good to anyone in battle, but maybe I could make it up to them through my medical skills. I was fresh out of training and I knew all my stuff.

We finally reached a closed off room in the interior of the base and the single guard nodded us through. This was strange because the protocol for guards at the base was at least two at every post. The Major must have decided to break his own rule to help even out the fight. He was there when we entered, the Major I mean, looking very disheveled and weary. His usually pristine uniform was dirty and torn along with the soot filled hair and mud smeared face. He looked up as Robins approached him and stood at attention.

"Sergeant Robins reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, it looks as though you've found our missing medic," Major Collens observed, motioning towards me.

"Yes, sir, she was taking cover under a Warthog in the ammunitions room."

Collens nodded and turned, addressing me. "This is our temporary headquarters until we can get rid of the covenant. You will report here when ordered. At the moment I need you in our medical bay, we've got some injured people."

I nodded and prepared to follow him out of the room, slamming into him as he stopped abruptly to dismiss the sergeant. "Not too fast, Corporal," he said to me and then walked out of the room with me tagging along behind.

He was silent while we walked towards the medical bay and it took me several minutes to build up enough courage and ask, "Major, if I may, what happened? Why are the Covenant attacking us and why wasn't there an alert?"

Collens turned his head to look at me a minute and then answered saying, "I would assume you know the answer as to why they are attacking; just because they hate us. There wasn't an alert because no one saw them coming. They used some kind of device to cloak their ships, even our sensors didn't pick them up."

I mused over this awhile and then asked again, "What is the current situation?"

"All the marines we can spare are currently defending this base. We've lost the rest of the planet, though there are no other major cities or outposts other than our base."

"Are we going to make it through this, sir?" I asked quietly after taking in the bad news.

"It doesn't look as though we are. All we can do is hang tight and hope for reinforcements."

By then we had reached the medical room and I was taken aback by the number of wounded that were crammed into the tight quarters. The room itself was dimly lit due to a power outage and the same monotonous blinking lights flashed on and off. It was mostly quiet despite the pain the soldiers must be in. The few who could, lifted their heads upon our arrival and some saluted to the Major. He returned the gestures and then spoke to me again, "I know you are fresh out of training but you are all we have right now. This base wasn't deemed important enough to receive a proper medical staff, and as Robins probably told you we lost our senior medical officer. You're now in charge here, do your best for these men."

I swallowed, and though the weight of the world seemed to come crashing down on my slim shoulders I nodded, "Yes, sir!"

"Good, now get to it and make sure the marines assigned here do everything you ask," he said, and left the room immediately after.

I stood there for awhile, just taking it all in…it was a lot to take in so give me a break. We can't all be perfect soldiers who jump into every assignment right away. Though of course, the moans of the injured, as well as my reputation that needed fixing, finally got me moving and I approached the nearest marine assigned to serve as a "nurse" for information.

So we got to work bandaging open wounds, distributing painkillers, and in the worse cases sometimes removing limbs that had got crushed or disfigured beyond repair. I just thanked God I wasn't squeamish anymore. The biofoam was running low so we reserved that for the worst wounds and relied on good old cloth and fabric for all others. Speaking of that, most of the medical supplies were running low and I knew that if the wounded kept coming in like this and we didn't get reinforcements soon, many would die.

After hours of grueling and bloody work I took a short break, sitting down with my back against the cool wall. The marines I had helped had been very grateful and cooperative despite my many slip ups, I was still new to this but at least I hadn't screwed up too badly and seriously hurt anyone. I think that when you're actually put in a real world situation all the practice and simulations that you thought you'd forgotten just spring into your mind and you know what to do. That's how I felt at least when I realized I had just stitched up a wound with a complicated stitch pattern that I didn't even know I had learned. It's amazing what kind of crap surfaces in your mind when you really need it.

While I was resting there, my mind wandering to a time when I wasn't so tired, a noise louder than the normal bangs and thundering rolls I had been hearing resounded through the base and shook the walls. I jumped with a start and was on my feet in no time. "What the Hell's going on!" I yelled frantically though I didn't expect an answer. Marines were scrambling everywhere, grabbing their weapons while the wounded sat helpless and alarmed. My first thought was to send for help, but I never got a chance before Major Collens was ushered hurriedly into the room with several other marines accompanying him. His head was gushing blood but he was still trying to push the attending marines away and get back to his post. I ran quickly too him with a medical kit and tried to mop up the blood but he pushed me away.

"No, no, it's just a head wound I have to get back out there. They've got us overrun!" he yelled and forced his way back towards the entrance.

"But your head –" I started to say and was cut off by another soldier running into the room, a look of despair flooding his face, as he approached the Major and said, "It's over, sir, they're all dead! We've been overwhelmed!"

The Major paused, his frantic attempts to escape ceasing, and suddenly became very still. "Prepare our last stand against them. We'll take a few out before they take this planet, "he calmly said. The marines around him loaded their guns and prepared for a last stand. One of them handed Collens a loaded pistol and he took a ready position.

I stood there behind them in complete shock. There were about twelve of us and hundreds of them. This time no one was going to save me, I would die here without ever having done anything significant or worthwhile…but I had done my duty hadn't I? I had saved the lives of many marines in the past few hours and I hadn't messed up. I was proud to have served and done my best in a time of crisis, and if I was going to have to die I was going to die defending the human race from the covenant. I hastily drew out my sidearm, loaded it, and took a position behind the major, gun aimed at the door. It was then I remembered my bad aim and that I probably wouldn't do much good, but what the hell, I was gonna die anyways, so who gives a shit if I can't aim.

**Hmmm, I think this chapter was a little short, I'll try to make some longer ones. Arbiter and Master Chief should be coming in soon! Oh, and I will try to update this whenever I can. I am in college so sometimes...well a lot of the times other things come first, but I promise I will finish it. Thanks for reading, reviews welcome but please don't flame.**


	2. Chapter 2: Reinforcements

Chapter 2: Reinforcements

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to know you were going to die and there was nothing you could do about it? I've felt that feeling. I was feeling it now as gunfire poured in all around me again and I struggled to find some cover. I hadn't been hit again since that plasma bolt that had grazed my arm earlier, but I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to it. A couple of the few defenders with me had fallen to critical wounds since the Brutes had busted down the door to the sick bay. Collens, however, was still alive and had ordered us to find some cover. It was a mess; my worst nightmare. There was nothing we could do. We all knew this was it; there was no use in ordering us into a tactical plan. We knew what to do. Fight bravely and die honorably, at least most of us did.

With my back up against the cold gray wall of the medical bay I checked my ammo with shaky hands. The clip was still full. I hadn't fired a shot. How could I? Sure I had trained, but was never in a real battle with real enemies. I had never faced death, and now I realized it was harder than I thought it would be. So I sat there, cringing against the wall, far from proud of myself, when a bright ray of light suddenly shown down on my face. I stared at it with dazzled blue eyes and thought to myself, _am I dying? Is this what heaven looks like? _

That was when a harsh shadow of a man dropped through the light and blocked it from my eyes. I heard the sounds of gunfire and more shouting as silhouettes continued to pour through the light which I now recognized as coming from a hole that had been blasted through the ceiling. It wasn't heaven, but it was damn close enough. It was a rescue party.

So why was I still crouched on the floor with my back against the wall?

"Get up!" I yelled at myself, trying to motivate my mind into action. These guys were risking their necks to come in and save us and all I could do was sit and hide. That was not acceptable and I was going to do something about it.

My hands shook as I gripped the pistol tighter and prepared to dart out from my corner and shoot like hell at anything that moved. I took a deep breath, counted to three, and lunged out into the open, pistol raised to firing position. You can guess how shocked I was when, after I belted a very ridiculous sounding battle cry, I saw that the fighting was over! There was just me in a ready position pointing around like mad at a bunch of ODST and what remained of my squad and the dead aliens. The soldiers looked at me and a couple of them chuckled. I couldn't have been more embarrassed.

"Calm down, medic," an ODST captain told me. "The fighting's over. Y'all are a couple of lucky SOB's that the UNSC decided this wasn't a base we should lose."

I holstered my weapon and walked shakily over to Major Collens. He was the only remaining soldier who I knew in the room. I guess Robins didn't make it. "Sir," I said softly. He looked up from a soldier he was administering to, "Yes Henson?"

"What happened? That was over so fast…"

"Well the UNSC sent us some back up as you can see. The Captain was right; we would all be dead about now if it wasn't for them. Now get to work, you're a medic aren't you? Looks like you didn't do half bad with some of these wounded and I'm sure a lot more could use your help."

"Yes, sir!" I replied and went to assist the nearest man. Of course my subconscious at the time was screaming at me to forget it and get some rest, but I didn't, this is why I joined up.

* * *

_So tired…so tired_… was all I could think about as the day drew to an end. I lost count of how many wounded I had helped in the last hours. I was almost on automatic. After bandaging another head wound, I trudged over to replenish my supply of biofoam that the ODSTs had thankfully provided. Of course, stupid me was so damn tired that I wasn't watching were I was going and I slammed right into the thickest and most immovable wall of green that I ever had the chance to run into.

I assumed it was some piece of equipment the ODSTs had brought in since I hadn't remembered it being there before. That assumption led to what seemed like the worst but was possibly the best thing that could have ever happened to me and would change the course of my life forever. I backed up and strained my face up into the setting sun to get a good look at what it was, and found myself face to face with a seven foot tall giant in green armor; a Spartan.

The moment passed quickly, but I can definitely remember it as if it was in slow motion. There he was, larger than life; seeming to be like ten feet taller than my small frame could ever hope to be. The orange light from one of the setting suns reflecting off his already orange visor glinted into my eyes and the MJOLNIR armor seemed to glow like a ghost. I can't even begin to describe how much in awe I was of this mighty warrior who could easily crush me with a thought. That's when I realized that it was I who had slammed into him and the awe quickly changed to fear.

I stood gaping at him like a fish while a pale dread washed over my features. I'm telling you, I was more scared of him than I was of those brutes that had almost killed me only hours ago. I started to back away as he seemed to glare into my soul and, inevitably, I tripped over a water power hose and sent it flying as the force of pounds and pounds of water gushed out of the end and all over the room.

I guessed I had nudged it lose from its secure location when I fell over it, but whatever I did, I made a terrible mess. Shelves, expensive equipment, machines, weapons, marines, ODSTs, and I went flying all over the place when hit with the forceful water from the high pressure hose. I felt sure that if the Covenant hadn't been the end of us that hose would have. Lucky for us the Spartan could stand up to the immense pressure of the gushing water and calmly grabbed the end of the rampant hose, pinched it closed, and turned off the valve as if he was handling no more than a sprinkler.

"Oh, shit," I said under my breath as I surveyed the scene. Everything, and I mean everything, was wet. There were thousand pound pieces of equipment tossed onto their sides and soldiers sprawled all over the floor. Thankfully no one was hit dead on with the water because that would have been the death of them. This was far worse than the embarrassment of that accidental battle cry earlier.

The moaning and groaning started up as people struggled to their feet and I waited for the highest ranking officer to come chew me out. I got a lot of angry glances shot my way and was pretty sure no one was going to be too friendly towards me for awhile. They had all seen me trip over the hose. I didn't get it though. How was it my fault? Anyone would have been startled enough to trip over something if they had just ran into a Spartan and whoever was in charge of tying that high powered hose down sure did do a shitty job of it. I quickly became just as disgusted with all of them as they were with me and decided I wanted nothing to do with them ever again. Unfortunately my resolve was shattered once again when the hero of the day approached me and offered his hand to me, the villain.

Were Spartans supposed to do this? I didn't think they cared? I was obviously wrong when the very giant I had assaulted and caused so much trouble for approached me and held out his hand to pull me up. I hesitated, who wouldn't have he was huge, and then very cautiously put my hand in his. That was the last I saw of it for the moment as the Spartan's hand quickly swallowed up mine and my arm was nearly yanked from its socket as he pulled me to my feet. He then seemed to stare at me a moment, only a short moment, and without a sound suddenly disappeared from my view in the blink of an eye. I rubbed my arm as I turned to watch him walk away towards the command room; so light on his feet and at the same time so heavy. The whole scene almost seemed like I had made it up, that it had never happened, then I was forced back into reality when I saw Major Collens walking my way. _Uh Oh_, I thought, _I'm in for it now._

After I had been thoroughly chastised about being tired on the job and ordered to take a break, I went to the "soldier's quarters", and I emphasize this because it was really just the mess hall transformed with a few cots to make a place for marines and ODSTs to get some R and R. The real barracks had been demolished with most of the base. Not a few moments after I had found an empty cot and was musing over the past events that day I was interrupted by a cheeky ODST as he sat down noisily on my cot. Just who did he think he was anyways?

"Hey, sorry to bother but I heard you were the medic who tried to kill the Spartan with a high powered hose. I just had to check it out for myself," he said.

"I didn't try to kill him; you must have heard a rumor or something."

"Oh yeah? Well the way I hear it you got mad that he was in your way and you kicked that hose that was tied down real tight right into his face," he laughed. "You must have been pretty mad, but I also hear the chicks in the Marine Corps can be pretty buff…can't say as much for you so I have no idea how you moved that hose."

Great, a compassionate Spartan and an ODST full of jokes? How can this day get any weirder?

"Oh come on, I tripped over that hose and it hadn't been tied down properly so it came loose. We would have all been dead if the Spartan hadn't turned it off," I grumbled and tried to give the impression that the conversation was over.

"Well however it goes; you were still pretty brave to stand up to the Master Chief like that. And to even dare to let him help you up? That took courage. There is no way I would have let him touch me. I'd be scared he'd crush me on accident," he replied, eager to keep talking with me. Of course something he said had now aroused some new questions in me. Did he know more about the Spartan, or…The Master Chief as he called him?

"The Master Chief? That's the Spartan right? What do you know about them?"

"Hell, no one knows much. Apparently he's the last one ever since Reach so it's rare when he shows any interest in anyone."

"He probably just helped me up subconsciously. You know, he wasn't thinking about it," I thought out loud to myself. I didn't know much about Spartans, but it surprised me to know he was there was only one more left. It seemed the covenant was winning the war after all.

"Yeah, whatever. Oh, sorry I've been so rude," the ODST said and removed his helmet to reveal short curly black hair and green eyes. "The name's Jet."

"Jet?" I asked as I shook his hand.

"It's kind of a nickname the other ODSTs gave me. Again, sorry to bother you, you look like you could use some rest." He got up and tucked his helmet under his arm.

"Anytime, Jet. My name's Zoey, Corporal Zoey Henson," I said before he walked away.

He pointed his finger at me and smiled. "Doesn't sound too hard to remember, I'll see you around."

I sighed and laid back down as he walked away. He was nice enough, but maybe I could finally get some peace and quiet—that's when I heard the muster call and groaned. Major Collens was calling all personnel to his quarters. Something else was up.

"All right listen up," the Major said as soon as the rag-tag grouped had gathered in his pseudo office. "I called this meeting because, one, the few of you here are the only original personnel from this base left alive, with the exception of those too injured to be here of course, and two, because we have received new orders," he paused as we all waited impatiently for him to continue. "We are to accompany the ODSTs and the Spartan back to the _Forward Unto Dawn _for debriefing. They will be sending transport in soon and I want you all to be ready to move out when they arrive. We will not be coming back here. Unless there are any questions you are dismissed," he finished and turned to us.

It was all pretty straight forward so I didn't volunteer any questions. We were just moving out, what that was going to be like I didn't know. I wasn't really used to being on a ship in space. Actually, I had never been on one for a long period of time. I hope they were just moving us somewhere else and we weren't permanently stationed on the _Forward Unto Dawn_. I knew that ship was on the front lines and had seen a lot of action so I wasn't really looking forward to living with a bunch of war hardened marines.

I left the Major's office still wondering about how the space marines would react to us ground folk. Probably just the general hazing I would guess, but I didn't have that much time to think about it because the Major had meant it when he said the transports would be arriving soon. I strained my head up to watch as our transports, a couple of heavily armored "pelicans", came lumbering into the atmosphere. Though they were armored, they weren't equipped with weapons which had led me to assume they were our transports. They were, however, certainly big and looked as if they could be battle ready in minutes. They moved across the planet to a relatively clear area where they could touch down. They didn't really look like pelicans to me, so I couldn't really understand how they got the nickname. I mean, the warthogs at least looked like they had tusks, but pelicans? Not to mention the mongoose and scorpions? Some things I would never understand.

"Hey, Henson, you better get your stuff. Those birds are about to lift off," someone yelled at me. I snapped out of the thought process I had been going through and quickly ran for where I had stashed my gear. I didn't really have much but there were a few things I didn't want to leave behind on the desolate planet I was soon to leave.

_Why did I have to pick the pelican with the Spartan on it?_ I asked myself again and again as my face turned green and my stomach started to churn on the ascent through the atmosphere. Not only was the incident back on the planet an issue between us, but I was also embarrassing myself by getting sick on the pelican. I was pretty good on a boat in the water. You could say I had my sea legs, but apparently a spaceship going up through the atmosphere into space was an entirely different story.

He hadn't looked at me, the Master Chief that is. He just calmly stepped up onto my pelican as it was taking off and the ramp was closing for the climb through the planet's atmosphere. I wondered if he even noticed I was on the ship, or maybe he had forgotten the whole incident already. I sure as hell hoped he had because if there's one thing I hate, it's being remembered for doing something stupid. You can tell it happens to me often can't you.

Soon enough, to my ultimate relief, we emerged into the blackness of space without any incidents including my managing not to barf all over the place. I gazed out into the big black void and found that a sort of peace was coming over me. Everything was so quiet and still. It was such a contrast to what I had been used to planet side where there was so much noise. I sat in silence as the pelican got closer and closer to a large cigar shaped ship in the distance, the _Forward Unto Dawn_.

The docking bay of the _Forward Unto Dawn_ was a lot different than the serenity of space had been. Once our transport had landed there was nothing but noise. The Master Chief had gotten off first and was soon on his way to more important manners somewhere else on the ship while the ODSTs all pushed and shoved me around as they made their way to where they were supposed to be. And what was I doing; yeah that's right, standing around not having a clue as to where I was supposed to be going and gawking at the immense size on the _Dawn_. I had never been on a ship of her caliber and was impressed. Of course, compared to a covenant cruiser she was nothing, but still…wow!

"Corporal Henson, what are you doing? Fall in!" Major Collens shouted at me from across the room. I quickly made my way over to him and the rest of my outfit.

"Is your squad all here and accounted for Major?" a female voice asked and I turned to see a very commanding looking woman with brown hair and green eyes.

"All present, Commander Keyes," he replied.

Oh, so this was the famous Commander Keyes. She certainly looked like everything she had been made out to be; a successful, brave, and tactical officer. I admired her greatly, probably because she was everything I had hoped to be when I joined the UNSC. Looks like I'd never reach that goal though. What good has a medic ever done?

"Very good," she said and nodded to her right as she continued, "You will come with the Master Chief and me for debriefing. Your squad may go to the barracks until we reassign them." As she said this I noticed the Master Chief had reappeared and, as quiet as ever, was now standing behind Commander Keyes. I tried not to make eye contact, but that was harder than it seemed since I couldn't tell where his eyes were behind that visor. I decided to just not look at him at all.

"You wouldn't be excluding me from your debriefing. I too am interested in why the Prophets were investigating such an insignificant planet," I heard the deepest voice I had ever come across resound from somewhere behind me. I whipped around only to nearly collapse in shock as I found myself face to face with a seven foot tall alien.

**Of course, we all know who the seven foot tall alien is! The Arbiter and Master Chief have made their appearance! There will be a lot more Arbiter in this story since he's my inspiration for it and my favorite character in Halo. Yeah this chapter wasn't much longer than the first, but I plan on fixing that! Again, thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: In The Arms Of A Beast

Chapter 3: In The Arms Of A Beast

After nearly dying of shock, making a feeble attempt to find my side arm in the moments panic, and then being forcefully grabbed by some of my fellow marines and being shaken out of my frenzied state to save my life, I finally started to take a few deep breaths and calm down. I wasn't the only one affected by the sudden appearance of the alien. I remember Major Collens flinching a little and all of the marines in my squad, including me, were now standing a few feet away from the monster. It was just so unexpected. It was like I was standing there minding my own business and the next thing I know I was like _Holy Shit! The Covenant is attacking! _

Commander Keyes was doing her best to calm everyone down, though. She explained that he was Sangheili and was part of the Covenant Separatist that was allied, along with the rest of the Sangheili, with the UNSC. All the while the Sangheili warrior was standing perfectly still, probably trying to portray the fact that he wasn't going to hurt us, but if you ask me it wasn't working very well. He was just too unnerving and those bright orange eyes were really starting to creep me out.

He was called the Arbiter, but that was more of a title or rank than a name. Not that anything Keyes was saying about him registered in my brain when all I could do was stare at the guy. He was huge, bigger even than the Master Chief it seemed and his dark skin was covered in a silvery armor that looked a little archaic. I was, of course, familiar with the Elites, but hadn't actually fought any or seen them up close. The Arbiter was my first so it was no wonder I couldn't take my eyes off of him. After getting over the initial shock of seeing an alien on a UNSC frigate, I was beginning to become a little more curious than scared.

"Well as long as he's on our side that's fine with me. Sorry for our rude behavior, the planet we were stationed on was remote and news of this alliance never reached us," Major Collens explained.

"It is forgiven. Over time I have become used to the reactions of humans upon seeing me," the alien replied. I kind of got the feeling from the way he said things that English wasn't his first language.

Major Collens nodded his head at the Arbiter and turned back to Commander Keyes as she said, "You are all dismissed. Major, if you would accompany us…oh and Henson, I'm assigning you to our ships medical bay. Please report there and assist in any way you can."

"Yes ma'm," I said with a salute and started to walk away, then realized I didn't know where the hell the medical bay was. I turned back feeling embarrassed and asked, "Excuse me, but could someone show me where that is?"

"I'll do it, ma'm," came another voice coming from a cheerful ODST with black curls.

"Thank you, Jet," Commander Keyes said and then left with Major Collens, the Master Chief, and the Arbiter. The latter two parting the crowd like Moses parted the Red Sea. I could see everyone was just as uneasy with them as I was.

"Hello Corporal Zoey Henson," Jet said as he approached me. "How are you today?"

"You remembered my name, how nice," I replied.

"I told you I would, didn't I?"

I smiled and followed him out of the docking bay down the long, and if you ask me, rather dull corridors. Hadn't they heard that a little color cheers people up more? It all looked the same, and that's when I realized I could get lost real fast in here. "So do I get a map or something?"

Jet chuckled at my question and said, "Uh, no. I guess I hadn't realized how easy it is to get lost. I've been on this ship for a long time. You'll eventually get used to it, but if you do get lost just ask someone. They're usually nice about giving directions."

"Oh," I said. I was a little disappointed about there not being a map. I guess the UNSC was skimping out on everything these days.

"So I saw you met the Arbiter for the first time, huh? Pretty scary guy, right?"

"Sure is, scared the crap out of me. I know what Commander Keyes was saying but, what do you think, is he, you know, safe?" I asked.

"Sure I guess. He's never done anything to make me doubt him, but he was Covenant and I'm sure he's killed his fare share of humans. Just stay out of his way and you'll be fine."

I nodded, skeptical to his advice and we finished the rest of the trip in silence. I was never much of a talker, but I think we were both brooding over the past events. I myself was wondering what was going to happen to me, but there was another question that kept popping up in the back of my mind; why did the Covenant attack our base? There must have been other planets with more important UNSC bases on them. It seemed to me that I wouldn't be getting an answer to that question any time soon.

"Hey, Zoey, we're here. You don't mind if I call you Zoey do you?" Jet said, snapping out of my thoughts.

"Uh, Zoey's fine. Thanks for taking me here."

"No problem. Catch ya later," he said and strolled out of the sick bay.

I surveyed my surroundings and was surprised to fine the sick bay a lot more interesting than the rest of the ship had been. It was a little brighter than the dull walls of the _Dawn_ and there was a considerable amount of color in the various medicines and liquids tucked away in the shelves or dripping into an injured person's veins. I immediately felt more comfortable because I knew here I wouldn't be in the way, here I could actually help. It was very quiet and I stood still, just taking it all in. You are probably thinking _what the hell, is this chick crazy? Who likes the doctor's office?_ Well I'll tell you who does, doctors. That's what I was, more or less.

So you can imagine, after all that quiet I was experiencing, that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a very loud female voice said right next to my ear, "Can I help you?"

I turned around to the voice to see it belonged to a holographic AI standing impatiently on a table right next to me. My first impression of her was _wow put some clothes on, _but I guess as an AI she could look however she pleased. She was blue with short hair and data codes that ran across her scantily clothed body. From her demeanor I could tell she was one of the smart AI and probably held a prominent position on board the ship. So what was she doing in the sick bay?

"I'm Corporal Henson, reporting for duty under the orders of Commander Keyes," I informed her.

"Oh right, the medic from that base that was just attacked. From what I hear you're quite the character," she said with a sly smile. "My name is Cortana. I pretty much run the _Forward Unto Dawn."_

Despite her sassy attitude and strange appearance I rather liked the AI and smiled back saying, "Nice to meet you Cortana."

"Let me just page Erica for you and she'll get you settled," the AI said. I nodded and soon saw a very short Hispanic looking women wearing white bustle into the room.

"Thank you, Cortana," the short doctor said and the AI nodded in return and then appeared suddenly distracted by something and turned away. "Hello, my Name is Erica Castillo in charge of the medical department on board the _Dawn_. You must be Zoey right?" the doctor then said to me and I nodded as well.

"Sorry about Cortana, she's been assigned here temporarily until I can get some more staff. I put her in charge of the front desk. Come this way with me," Erica continued and I followed her, glancing back at Cortana as she continued to stare at the wall, seemingly immersed in something else.

"What's wrong with Cortana?" I asked as we moved to where the patients were.

"Oh she is only devoting part of her processor here. Most of her is keeping the _Dawn_ online and battle ready as well as attending that meeting with Commander Keyes and your Major."

"Really," I said in awe of the complexity of the AI. I had heard smart AI could do many things at once, but actually witnessing it was amazing. I certainly hope she didn't forget about some of her jobs or the ship might run into a few problems!

The part of the sick bay we had now entered was full of wounded soldiers, most of which I had attended down on the planet. I could see why Erica needed Cortana at the desk, there was just too much to do for all the doctors and nurses here already. True I hadn't had much sleep, in fact I hadn't had any sleep since the attack, but I wasn't going to let that stand in my way of helping out. I had come this far already and there was no way I was backing down now.

"There is a sink in the back through there, go wash yourself up a little and see if you can find some clean clothes to change into from the ones that are back there. You look like you were dragged by your arms through the dirt, sprayed down with a water hose and then left out in a sand storm to drip dry," Erica informed me.

Well that was certainly descriptive. I looked down at myself and saw that she was pretty much right. Actually the part about the water hose was pretty accurate, but I didn't say anything else as I walked to the back to clean up. There wasn't much of a choice in clothes so I put on a UNSC issued black tank top and some camo pants. I kept my combat boots, they were still in pretty good shape, and I found a white lab coat that made me look more doctorish. After I had tied back my blonde hair I walked back out into the room of moaning patients and started to help out wherever I could.

It soon grew apparent to me that the staff didn't trust me with much. Most of them were doctors and didn't want an armature little medic around. I thought that was pretty damn selfish of them after I had stitched up most of the boys that were on the cots in here when I was down on the planet. I had done a damn good job of it too, but I guess I couldn't blame them. If I was a professional doctor I wouldn't want me operating on a patient either. I ended up hanging out with this other girl they were treating similarly. Her name was Michelle and she was from the small science department onboard the ship. She said she was a biologist and had offered her help to the sick bay when they started to get in over their heads.

"I was a biologist too; an ichthyologist to be exact. I studied fish, but I guess I should have tried to get a biology job with the UNSC instead of just signing up for the marines," I explained to her while we were cleaning up some blood from the floor…yeah, a menial job.

"Actually I guess I just got lucky. Someone I knew recommended me for the job and I took it. Otherwise I would have done what you're doing," Michelle told me. She was really nice and I felt like I related to her well. It was nice to have another friend on board the _Dawn_.

"That's lucky," I said, "Not that I don't think my job is important, but sometimes it seems like I'm just getting in the way, not to mention my life is on the line every time I go out there. I'd love to see your lab sometime if that's okay."

"Sure," Michelle replied.

We kept on working for hours and hours until I started to fall asleep on the job. At one point my head just kind of flopped over into a pan of fluid and it got everywhere. Erica, noticing this, told me to go get some rest. She said I would just cause more harm if to myself and others if I didn't get any sleep. At least someone finally noticed what I could have told them a long time ago. So I said goodbye to Michelle and wandered sluggishly out of the sick bay. I had planned on asking Cortana where I should go, but she wasn't at the desk so I figured I'd walk around until I saw someone else I could ask like Jet had advised.

So I had been walking around for a couple of hours it seemed and finally decided I was getting nowhere. I hadn't run into a soul since I had started out on my little venture and to make it worse I could barely move my feet anymore. I slumped up against a wall for a little while to rest. _Where the hell was everyone? This was a frigate for pete's sake! Why did it seem that I was the only one on board? _

My mind started to wander like it always did before I would fall asleep and I shook my head to try and stay awake. I must go on, I had to go on, I needed to find my way…my eyes started to droop and my mind took off on eagles wings again as I inevitably sank to the ground and fell asleep. The last thing I remember was the dark closing in and the sound of heavy footsteps and clanking armor coming my way.

* * *

Waking up not knowing where you are is pretty freaky, waking up swaying a couple feet off the ground in the arms of someone very tall is just about the freakiest thing that had ever happened to me.

"Holy _Shit_," I yelped when I awoke to the feeling of height and motion and found myself in the arms of the alien I had come to know as the Arbiter. He was walking through the empty corridors of the _Dawn, _carrying me, so you can imagine how I felt. Here I am, vulnerable girl all alone in the dark with a big, strong, monster that was carrying me off to its lair. It kind of reminded me of those old horror movies back in the day. I was by now really scared for my life. It didn't matter what Commander Keyes had explained to me before, the negative stuff Jet had said about him was starting to surface in my mind. He had killed us once, he could do it again. Ally or not I was convinced this creature was going to do something horrendous to me and then kill me for fun.

The Arbiter, however, did not conform to the old movies or Jet's theories and stopped when he heard me shout. He seemed to hesitate as if he weren't sure what to do and swiveled his long neck around to look at me where I was clearly flipping out in his arms. "I have never understood that statement you humans use. Excrement is not holy," he said, voice echoing in his large chest and vibrating through my body.

I stopped struggling when I heard him say that and all my romanticizing thoughts came to a screeching halt. _What the hell was he talking about? Oh! When I said "holy shit" it confused him._ Who knew curse words were a form of defense.

"It's more of an expression," I said involuntarily, not believing I would have the courage to speak to him.

"An expression…it seems to me a waste of words," he mused.

Well I sure as hell wasn't interested in arguing with an alien about human speech and I wasn't about to let myself be distracted from my immediate goal at the time, getting down. "Uh, excuse me, but would you mind putting me down?"

"It would be easier if I carried you. You do not know where you are going I think. You are also very weary," he replied and started to walk again. I noticed he walked with a very odd gait, kind of bouncy.

Then I began to get scared again and retorted, "I know, but I'm wide awake now. I think I could walk."

He slowed and then, to my relief, very gently set me feet first down on the floor. "I will lead you then," he said.

"It's alright, I'm sure I can find my way back. Um, thank you for your help," I urged and quickly walked away. I didn't much like the thought of walking near the alien either. He was so big! It made me nervous.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Stupid Zoey is going to go and get herself even more lost and probably end up falling asleep on the floor again. Well, this thought did eventually go through my head and I stopped my hasty walk, unsure of what to do. On the one hand I could go back to the Arbiter and beg him to help me after I had just rejected his assistance, which would cause a major blow to my pride as well, and on the other I could keep on going and hopefully find a way back to civilization without a map or any knowledge of where I was. That had the potential of more grueling hours aimlessly trudging around and possibly never finding my way back. I'd probably die, lost in the abandoned corridors and soon be nothing but brittle bone…I guess I'm gonna have to back and face that alien.

Luckily for me the Arbiter was smarter than he looked and had figured out way before I did that I would soon be on my way back. He was right where I had left him, watching me warily approach with those cat-like orange eyes. His large, broad frame blocked most of the weak light that was shining down from behind him and seemed to make him look even more sinister along with that silvery glow to his armor.

"So," I said nervously, "Could I still take you up on your offer to show me the way out of here?"

"You may," he replied, clacking his mandibles together in an abrupt motion. He walked on up in front of me, expecting me to follow, which I quickly did. I got the feeling he was somewhat annoyed with me so I stayed back a little and didn't talk to him the rest of the way. I had no idea what his temper could be like and didn't really want to find out. Okay, yeah, I was shaking like a leaf with every step and cursing myself for not being a little braver.

We soon exited the part of the ship that seemed devoid of life and found ourselves back among people. The _Dawn_, being on active duty, was in constant motion with soldiers and officers posted at her stations at all times. The crew slept in shifts, since there really was no night and day out in space, so the halls and compartments were just as crowded as I remembered them. I guess the area I had gotten lost in was of little importance to the crew. The crowds were not a problem, however, as the Arbiter lead me through them easily; just one plus of being in the company of the most dangerous person on the ship besides the Master Chief. When you heard the heavy footfalls of his massive hooves, you got out of the way quick.

I was hoping it was my shift to sleep just as we arrived in the marine barracks. When I saw the Arbiter had lead me to the right place I turned to thank him again for his help, but he was already walking away, satisfied that his job was done and that he could leave the pesky little medic behind. I wondered what he was doing back there in those empty hallways when he found me. Inspecting the ship? Maybe on a contemplative walk? He certainly wasn't looking for little lost sheep asleep on the floor.

"Corporal, there you are," I heard Cortana's familiar voice and saw the AI materialize in front of me on a stand in the barracks. "You were the only marine unaccounted for when Shift Bravo started a few hours ago."

"Oh, sorry I got lost but I found my way back with some help from the Arbiter," I said, hoping the interrogation wouldn't last long. I was more tired than I could imagine was possible.

"The Arbiter?" Cortana asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

All I could do was nod; the rush of adrenaline I had had when the Arbiter had found me was starting to wear off. I could feel myself starting to fall asleep again.

"Hmmmm, ok then as long as you're here. Go get some rest, Zoey, you've been reassigned as a combat medic with Fox Company. You'll find them over there. They are expecting you," with that she flickered and vanished, leaving me silently cursing to myself at the news. Another reassignment? This time it was to a company of soldiers that actually went into battle and now I was going to have to haul my ass along after them in the middle of a heated fight and try to save their lives at the same time as mine. Was I really this unlucky?

"Shame on you, Zoey," I said to myself under my breath as I walked over to where Fox Company was bunking. These soldiers needed me and all I could do was, again, bitch about helping them. I sighed and reminded myself why I had joined the fight, to save some marines and kick some alien butt while doing it, so stop complaining.

**I would have posted this sooner but Fanfiction decided to die on me. Anyways thanks for the reviews from the two of you who did! I will certainly try to keep your intrigue. Next chapter will have a little more action!**


	4. Chapter 4: Battle Cries

Chapter 4: Battle Cries

Everyone's had a déjà vu right? Yeah, I've had them before, and I personally think they can be kind of creepy, especially when you sit there forever thinking _I've seen this before…but where! _Only this time my déjà vu is probably something you've never experienced before, and I hope you never have to because it hurts like hell; the searing pain of a plasma bolt caught me in the arm. It was just like the first time I had felt that pain back when my base was attacked. It was excruciating and I cried out, remembering perfectly well where I had felt this one before.

So why was I getting hit with plasma? Because someone up high on the chain of command had decided I needed to be reassigned to Fox Company and fight on the front lines. Those assholes, I vehemently hated them all as I clenched my arm and wrapped a white cloth around the burn mark. I shook my head clear of the pain when I heard the familiar cry for help somewhere across the battle field. My hate turned to concern and I rushed towards the sound, taking cover where I could behind smashed warthogs, crashed hornets, and fallen trees.

After that eventful night with the Arbiter I had met my squad in the barracks of the _Dawn_. They were a tough group of marines and seemed to me to have a lot of potential. They welcomed me warmly, despite the fact I was late, and all seemed to be glad I was a part of their team…well all of them that is except Corporal Sofia Dylan. There's always got to be that person that just has to hate you for some reason no matter how nice you try to be. That was Sofia in my case. She glared at me with those dark brown eyes when I first introduced myself and was very short when speaking to me. I really didn't see what her problem was. She was definitely a better soldier than I was and not to mention far prettier than me as well. She had that satiny dark brown hair and bronze skin that would make most guys look twice.

The rest of them were nice enough. There was our Gunnery Sergeant, Bruce Pike, he was in charge of Fox company. Then there was Private First Class Hendricks and Private First Class Wang who were both eagerly looking to get promoted soon. Last but not least was Sergeant Calloway. He was Pike's second in command and one tough customer I can tell you that. I was to be their medic, and once introductions were made and that was established I was eager to go to bed, especially when they informed me that we would be assisting the ODSTs to drive more Covenant from another planet that was being attacked. We were deploying within the next ten hours.

"It seems to me like the Covenant is looking for something," Calloway had told me. "Why else would they be ransacking planets?"

I took that into consideration as I went to bed. He was right, but just how right was he, and what were they looking for?

But, hey, that was all a flashback to relatively happier times. Right now I was in the middle of the battle on that planet we were transported down to, Epsilon 7. I had gotten separated from my team at the start. The fight was already raging when our company jumped off the pelican and things were getting hot. We had to split to find cover and since then I had just been making my way from one wounded soldier to the next. There seemed to be an endless supply of those who needed help.

Thankfully, though, it seemed like our side was winning. There was no Covenant cruiser in the area to cause problems for the _Dawn_. We were basically just taking out an alien base that had already been established. Of course we had the ODSTs fighting with us, and did I mention the Master Chief and the Arbiter too? Luck seemed to be on our side. The Arbiter had even brought a bunch of Elites to help out. I was beginning to see the value of have aliens on our side for once!

So I was currently running through the vegetation and carnage, trying to get to that call for help I had heard moments ago, when I couldn't hear it anymore. I stopped and tried to be as still as I could in hope I might pick it up again over the sounds of gunfire and machine engines, but I never could. I prayed another medic had gotten to him and quieted him down rather than him being dead, but there was no way I would ever know. The pain in my arm started up again as I reverted back into my depressed state about the whole business. War was terrible, and it seemed like it would never end.

Another cry sounded out over the battlefield and I whipped my head around, determining the direction it was coming from. I sprinted quickly that way, medical bag banging on my thigh as I prayed I wouldn't be too late this time. The cries kept getting louder and louder so I knew I was headed in the right direction, but I was stressed and scared, the only thing my mind was thinking about at the time was getting there, so it wasn't until I was right on top of him that I realized the cries I had heard were different. They weren't the sound of a human voice; they were deeper, louder, and almost animal like. They were, as I soon found out when I stumbled upon him and almost screamed in fright, the cries of an Elite warrior in a lot of pain.

So what was I supposed to do? Here I was standing in complete shock next to a very large alien who was just now noticing I was there. My medical bag hung limp in my hand where I had been preparing it to help a fellow human and my heart pounded in my chest to the point I was sure anyone near could hear it. The Elite was trapped by his legs under a Covenant tank known by us as a "wraith." I assumed he was helping to destroy it and got caught underneath. I wondered why none of his kind had helped him out from under it, but all thoughts I had had on the subject were soon erased from my mind when I saw that he was watching me.

I was first alerted to the fact he knew I was there when I noticed he had stopped growling and was now completely silent. He had also stilled and wasn't struggling against the weight of the tank in order to free himself, but the big indicator was the forceful stare I felt from his large brown eyes burrowing deep into my skull. We both stared at each other as the battle raged on all around us; the elite daring me to make a move and me not daring to even breathe. I wondered how long we'd be locked in each other's gaze. _From what I know about Elites, a hell of a long time,_ I finally thought to myself. So, eager to make as good of an impression as I could…and also to avoid the bullets that were flying over my head…I knelt down very slowly to my knees in front of him. He followed my actions with his eyes, and when he saw I was making no other moves, he slowly gestured towards an alien plasma pistol lying a few feet out of his reach.

Now I'm no expert on Elites, but it seemed he wanted me to give it to him. I certainly didn't see any reason too, though. All he could possibly do with it was shoot himself or me, neither of which sounded like good options, so I shook my head and told him no. I assumed he would know what that meant, who doesn't know what "no" means, but whatever he got from my response made him fighting mad and he started to growl again and shove at the tank with his powerful arms, shaking it but not able to move it. He was pointedly ignoring me, I could tell. _Fine, if you want to be that way then by all means, knock yourself out._

I looked around the area we were in and my gaze fell on an abandoned warthog off to one side near a small hill. An idea suddenly sprang into my head and, without thinking about what a stupid idea it really was, I dashed over to the armored vehicle and jumped in the driver's seat. It started with a loud rumble and I backed it up a considerable distance from the tank, straightened it out, and floored it straight towards the wraith. I'm sure you can see all the flaws with this plan, but hey, it was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't really see any other way to get that alien out from under the tank. Luckily nothing that could have gone wrong did…except for the part when the warthog slammed into the side of the tank and I went flying out of the front, over the tank, and landed with a thud in the dirt on the other side. This was an extreme shock for the Elite as he watched me with wide eyes catapult over his head after I had purposefully crashed into the side of a tank. The overall outcome was the tank moved from the impact just enough so that the Elite could move his lower half out from under it. I'd say mission success, for the most part.

I picked myself up off the ground, shakily checking for broken bones and satisfied that I didn't find any. There were bruises and scrapes, but nothing I couldn't live with. I then turned my attention to the Elite I had just rescued. He was standing up, blue battle armor all covered in mud and dirt, and when he had finally gotten shakily to his feet, he fell over again after yelping in a dog like manner. I would like to point out though it was amazing how he fell back down with so much grace. He didn't just collapse like I would have, but he sort of just softly and calmly lay back down in the dirt, though it was obvious he was in pain. I couldn't imagine how something that big could fall with that much agility. I then noticed the indigo colored blood seeping from a wound in his left leg.

I ran over to his side, thinking nothing of my own safety, and kicked the plasma pistol away that he had started reaching for again. He roared vehemently at me, his quadruple hinged jaws spread wide open so that his four mandibles were just inches from my face. His hot sticky breath blew forcefully in my face and I cringed at the putrid meat like smell. I'll admit, it scared the shit out of me, but I'm a medic and he was an ally. I had a job to do and no matter how much he protested he wasn't going to stop me…unless he killed me, then I would be dead and he could shoot himself if he wanted.

"Oh shut up!" I yelled at him, sick and tired of being treated like I wasn't wanted. "I'm going to take a look at that leg and you are going to sit still and let me."

He growled again and scooted away from me, hatred for me and what I was trying to do boiled in his eyes that were already glazed over with pain. I tried to approach him again and this time he pushed me away and I flew backwards a couple feet. These guys were a lot stronger than I thought!

"All right, I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice," I mumbled and pulled out my sedative supply. I wasn't really sure how much to give him, so I figured I'd quadruple the amount I'd give a regular human and hopefully it wouldn't kill him. Now to get close enough to inject him with it.

I stood back up, brushed myself off again, and circled him. The Elite watched me move around him and roared warningly at me telling me to stay away. I kept coming, determination driving me on, and when I was just out of his reach I stopped, tensed, and jumped at him. I felt the needle on the sedation shot plunge into his tough gray skin and then snap off as he violently twisted and threw me to the ground again. He seemed to laugh at my feeble attempts to save his life, but then stopped laughing after awhile and suddenly became very still. I looked up from the ground with a triumphant grin. It seems the amount of sedative I had given him hadn't been enough to knock him out, but it was enough to make him limp and unable to move. Another successful mission completed; maybe this battle wasn't turning out so bad after all.

Picking up my bag of supplies, I walked back over to him again and knelt down beside the injured leg. I could see the big gash where something sharp had ripped into his flesh, but I knew there was probably something else wrong since the wound, though very deep and painful looking, probably wouldn't cause a full grown Elite male to be unable to stand on it. I was probably going to have to feel it a little to see if there were any broken bones, a task I was pretty nervous about doing. I was used to dealing with human bodies and there wasn't much in the way of human anatomy that I was uneasy attending too, but Elite anatomy was a whole new world to me and it just didn't feel natural being so close to a seemingly indestructible life form and realizing that they bled and felt pain too.

I hesitated to touch him, feeling as if something terrible would occur the moment I did, but there was a slight curiosity that pushed me on and I let my sweaty, trembling hands finally come to rest on his lower leg where the injury was. I stole a look at the Elite to see what his reaction was and all I got was more of that fiery hatred reflected in his eyes as he stared at me, chest heaving up and down in rage. I knew all he wanted to do was get me back for what I was doing to him, so I decided to work as quickly as possible.

There was a plate of armor partly covering the gash so I used a pair of heavy duty scissors, built for cutting through pieces of equipment, on the tight bindings that held the armor in place. I heard him huff as I removed the armor, but he didn't really make any more loud noises and threats. I think he realized there was nothing he could do about his situation. The first thing I noticed once his leg was more visible was that his leg structure was very different from a human leg. It was a lot more similar to that of a dog or cat where his "feet" were actually the bones of his toes, and what would correspond to the human ankle was positioned higher up on him. If you have a pet dog or cat, just look at their back legs and you'll see what I mean. His knees also seemed to bend forward rather than backwards, so you can see how stumped I had become just by looking at his leg. It was almost as if he needed a vet, not a doctor.

Well, even if his leg was weird I still knew how to tell if a bone was broken, so I gently began to feel along the lower half of his leg where the wound was located. As my hands moved against his skin he grunted and I couldn't tell if it was because it hurt or because he felt just as weird being touched by me as I did touching him. As soon as I found the break in his leg I set it back in place, which took a lot of work since Elite legs are heavier than human ones, and then filled the wound with biofoam. I wrapped a protective covering around it to hold it in place, though the biofoam should do the majority of the job, and then surveyed my work.

It was messy, and I probably did everything completely wrong, but I had at least tried to help an injured ally who's anatomy I knew nothing about. Satisfied that I could do no more for the wound I turned my attention to the patient. He hadn't made another indication of discomfort, even after the stinging biofoam, and seemed to be putting on a very brave front. He was still clearly angry with me, but now, for some odd reason, he also seemed to be somewhat sad, like he was disappointed with himself. He turned his angry eyes away from me and did not look at me again for the rest of the time I stood there. I wasn't sure what else to do; I couldn't move him because he was too heavy. So I made sure the area was relatively safe and placed a retrieval beacon next to him so that any passing evacuation transport would be able to find him. I felt bad about just leaving him there unable to move after I had caused him so much stress, but there was nothing else I could do and there were more people out there that could use a medic.

"You're gonna be okay," I said, even though he couldn't understand me, "I'm sure someone will find you." He continued to avert his gaze from mine and I finally gave up and sprinted back into the fight. _Some thanks for saving his life_.

* * *

Unfortunately for me that was not to be the last of my encounters with our alien allies during the battle. After I had patched up a kid with a missing eye and a girl who had received serious face burns from a heated plasma charge, I came across another Elite collapsed on the ground. Most of the other marines in the area were moving around him and continuing on, but I stopped to check him out. This one was near unconsciousness and was a lot easier to work with than the first. A plasma bolt had taken about half of his face off and he was lying on his back, again reaching for any weapon he could find. I applied antiseptic to the wound and bandaged his face grateful that the blast hadn't damaged his brain. He may be missing and eye and would only be able to hear out of one ear, but at least he would live. I placed another beacon next to him as well and moved on to the next patient I could find.

I had by now doctored a few more soldiers as well as two other Elites, but this time I was faced with a tough situation. I was attending to yet another unconscious Elite I had come across when right next to me a fellow marine fell to the ground with a pink needle from a "needler" protruding from his thigh. I had never been hit by one, but those things looked painful as I had seen them blow a soldier into pieces. I winced when the needle in the marine's leg exploded and sent chunks of his thigh flying. He screamed, of course, and yelled out for a medic. I was nearly finished with the Elite I was working on and told him to hold on a little longer and that I'd be right there. That was when things started to get a little nasty.

"What! What the hell do you mean by that! You're not going to keep working on that alien when you could be helping me are you?" he shouted at me, enraged that I hadn't rushed to his assistance right away.

"Um, yeah, I am. I was helping him first," I replied and turned back to the alien. I had to keep my mind on the job and finish up fast because the Elite was starting to stir.

"I can't believe this! The son of a bitch is an alien! I'm a human! Are you betraying your own race here?" he yelled again. He was clearly enraged and the pain he was feeling wasn't helping the situation. I knew how hard battle could be on the mind and nerves so I tried not to snap back at him to calm him down, but you couldn't really blame me if I sounded a little sharp.

"He's our ally and has just as much right as you do to be treated. You're wound really isn't that bad. I'm sure you can hold out a little longer."

The Elite started to slowly open his eyes and I felt his muscles tense underneath my hands, he knew something wasn't right and I wanted to get out of his way by the time he fully came around, unfortunately the marine had other thoughts in mind and I felt my arm being forcefully grabbed as he pulled me down to his face. His eyes were all scrunched up and he was red in the face as he said in a voice full of held back fury, "Now you listen here, bitch, I am in a lot of pain and you had better get the hell over here and fix me up. No alien life is worth mine! He's probably killed more of us than I have of them. Now I will have you court marshaled unless you do as I say."

I looked at his jacket and saw the Warrant Officer bars on his sleeve. _Oh shit_, I thought as I saw what he said was true. I could get into a lot of trouble for this…but it just wasn't right. He had no right to threaten me in that way and he had no right to take medical care away from someone just because he couldn't deal with pain and because he had something against them. I didn't care who he was and what he threatened me with, I was going to finish my job.

I ripped my arm out of his and turned back to the Elite to finish what I was doing. By now, however, the alien was wide awake and was staring at me. He hadn't made any moves against me, which was surprising when all of the others I had worked with had. It was as if he was in shock that I had disobeyed a direct order to help him, but I didn't have a chance to find out more because the Warrant Officer had now grabbed me again and angrily yanked me away. I was terrified, but thankfully never found out what he might have done to me because my rescuer arrived just in time.

The strong, iron hard hand of the giant Spartan II pulled me away from the anger driven Warrant Officer and pushed me behind his massive frame as he turned to glare at the man who had treated me so harshly.

"I would suggest saving your anger for the enemy, Sir," The Master Chief said. The Warrant Officer said nothing and remained on the ground, staring up at the Master Chief. Nobody wanted to mess with the thousand pound Spartan, not even the angry Warrant Officer. All I could do was finally breathe in relief and thank God in heaven for the Spartan that I had now come to respect a great deal more.

A warthog drove up from behind a hill, bouncing on it's shock absorbent springs, and came to a halt near where we stood. I saw another medic jump out and run to the Warrant Officer's wounded leg. A couple more men, that had been in the warthog with the other medic, jumped out as well and helped to lift the Warrant Officer off the ground and place him in the back of the armored vehicle. I was relieved they were taking him away, but as he was placed into the back of the ATV he glared back at me where I stood with the Master Chief and I got the feeling I wasn't seeing the last of him.

One of the men stayed behind as they drove away with the wounded warrant officer and turned towards me with a smile. The dirt and grime that covered his face hid a lot of his features, but the smile and the green eyes gave it all away, it was Jet.

"Hey, Zoey!" he said, "Didn't you here? We won! Mission success and we're pulling the wounded out."

"What…it seemed like it just started," I replied, a little confused.

"I know, but it's over now. I've agreed to help the Master Chief escort you back to the _Dawn_. It seems like there is something that the Commander would like to discuss with you," he explained.

"What, what did I do?" I asked alarmed.

"That will be revealed in time. Follow me," the Master Chief cut in.

The Spartan started to walk away, but I stopped him asking, "What about him?" And I pointed to the Elite that was silently watching the whole seen from the ground. His arm was still oozing indigo blood from where pieces of debris had gotten stuck. I had removed the debris, but hadn't had time to close him up.

The Spartan thought about it for a moment and then said, "Given the situation I think it's best we leave him here. The other Sangheili will look after him."

He moved off again and this time Jet gently pushed me from behind, giving me a sympathetic glance, and I reluctantly followed the Spartan back towards the _Dawn_. I guess I was in a lot of trouble…but for what I didn't know.

**Thank you, thank you for your awesome reviews everyone! Now I have to study for a quiz I've got tomorrow, so I'll see y'all next update when we see what else Zoey can get herself into! **


	5. Chapter 5: A Tough Decision

Chapter 5: A Tough Decision

Back on board the _Forward Unto Dawn _I went to the marine barracks to clean up a bit before I talked to the Commander. The water felt good as I ran my battle tired hands through it's cool embrace and splashed my face clean. I was covered from head to toe in the deep indigo blood that ran through the Elite's veins. It seemed to stain more than human blood, and I doubted I'd ever get this stuff out of my uniform. I changed into what I had worn the first day on board the _Dawn_, I didn't have anything else, and I tried to put my hair into some kind of an order. I had cleaned myself of most of the blood, but I could still taste the unusual liquid where it had sprayed on my lips while I was working. It didn't taste like human blood, almost, but there seemed to be something else in it that made it have a strange alien taste. I couldn't get the damn stuff out of my mouth.

Once relatively clean I made my way into the corridors of the ship to go find the Commander. The Master Chief was waiting for me.

"So I guess you're going to take me to the Commander, sir?" I asked him, more for conversational purposes. I knew very well where we were headed and my stomach churned at the thought. I know how you're supposed to get all peaceful after a fight, but to me the battle was still going on.

"That's right Corporal, just follow me," he replied. I did as he said and we were soon on our way through the seemingly empty hallways as compared to the bustle there had been before. Most of the soldiers were still planet side cleaning up. I'm sure the medical bay was jammed pack, though.

We arrived at the Officer's conference room where the meeting was scheduled to be held and as soon as the automatic door slid open the Master Chief pushed me through first and followed. Commander Keyes was there, sitting at the table, and so was a tough, battle hardened looking Sergeant Major. They weren't the shockers, however, as I hesitated at the entrance of the door, my eyes locked upon the two very tall alien Elites that stood behind the two humans. One of them was the Arbiter, as I could tell by his unique armor and orange eyes. The other one I hadn't met, and even though he wasn't as tall as the Arbiter, he certainly looked as formidable. I noticed two of his mandibles were missing on the left side of his jaw, a feature that was hard to forget.

"Ah, Corporal Henson, please come in and sit down. No need to be nervous," Commander Keyes said calmly and indicated a chair across from her.

I glanced around the room once more and then uneasily sat down in the seat. The Master Chief, remaining on his feet, loomed behind me like a prison guard on hand in case the unruly prisoner tried anything. I really hoped none of them thought that way about me, but the way the Elites in the room were watching me made me think otherwise.

"Before we begin I would like to make some introductions. Though we all know who each other is, the Corporal here doesn't," Keyes continued. "This is here is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson."

"Corporal," Johnson nodded toward me, his voice sounding a little gruff but not too unkind.

"And this is Ship Master R'tas Vadum. He captains the _Shadow of Intent_," Keyes said indicating the Elite with the missing mandibles. He also nodded to me, but did not speak.

"Oh, and Chief, I believe you have the final member of this meeting," she said again, this time addressing the Master Chief.

"Of course," he said and reached to the back of his neck, pulling free a small unit from his suit and inserting it into the ports on the table. A holographic image of Cortana showed up soon after that.

"I had hoped you weren't going to start without me," Cortana said, seeming displeased that she was forgotten. "Someone's got to back this girl up."

"We couldn't do a thing without you," Keyes said.

"Don't you forget it, Commander," was the AI's reply.

I was getting anxious by now. All this calm and casual talk was making me antsy, not to mention the stares of the Arbiter and R'tas Vadum. And why did Cortana think I needed backing up? Oh crap, I got a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

"So, I called you all here today mainly on the account of some troubling matters the Sangheili have brought to my attention. Corporal, I'm just going to say this plainly but…uh…what exactly _were_ you doing down there on Epsilon 7 anyways?" Keyes asked.

"Um…fighting the Covenant, ma'm?" I said with question, not sure what she wanted from me.

I heard R'tas make a huffing sound and Johnson simply said, "Hell yeah, that's my kinda answer."

"Johnson, please," Keyes scolded. "We know that, Henson, but we received reports from other marines as well as some of the Sangheili that you were, and I quote, "providing assistance to wounded Sangheili warriors in the field. Now just answer the question, yes or no, were you providing medical treatment too our allies?"

"Well, yes I was, you see—"

"Thank you, Henson, that's all I asked," she said and looked at a report in front of her. "Normally this wouldn't be a problem if they were any other human ally, but you see it was the Sangheili who requested this meeting with you. Apparently they find against dishonorable to have wounds taken care of by a healer. Most Sangheili would rather die with honor than face the dishonor and disgrace they would receive for seeing a doctor. Since you forced the Sangheili you were administering to accept your treatment through use of sedation and other methods, you have placed them in a very fragile position and the Sangheili leaders wish to express their ungratefulness for your actions."

Well that was a hell of a lot of words that mostly made their way "in one ear and out the other" as the expression goes. While Keyes was talking I was staring at her wide eyed, jaw slowly dropping and wondering how they hell I got myself into stuff like this. So I had basically gotten in a whole lot of trouble because I was doing what I thought was right? It figures, I seem to be unable to do anything right.

"Henson, do you understand the magnitude of your situation?" Keyes asked me when I had remained in my shocked position, unable to speak for some reason.

I cleared my throat before saying, "I was just doing my job as a medic, Commander." I had to say at least something for my defense. All odds seemed against me.

"A job that was never requested nor needed by the Sangheili," R'tas said, finally speaking, his voice loud and booming across the room. Even in a dire time like this I was still utterly fascinated by the way he could talk with half his mouth missing.

"I didn't know…" I replied quietly.

"You have insulted and hurt the Sangheili pride and honor each one of us works hard to obtain and keep. You must answer for this crime," R'tas continued, disregarding my plea.

"But they were hurting, they needed help. What was I supposed to do? Just leave them in pain like that?" I replied. I was feeling wrongly accused, and though the last thing I wanted was to argue with the huge Elite, I hated to be wrongly accused and could feel the frustration and anger building up inside.

"Better that than to live a life of disgrace," he said forcefully.

"Alright! Alright, I'm sorry! There I said it, are you happy now?" I yelled, not expecting the sudden burst of anger out of my usually controlled lips. I was again being treated as if I didn't matter, as if I was in the way, like I was wrong. I knew I wasn't wrong! I knew it as much as I had known I wasn't wrong when I had told that Warrant Officer to wait his turn. I wasn't going to let them make me feel otherwise. I felt like I had been struck with an epiphany, this time I was going to be right!

"Happy? Words are insufficient to cure deep wounds," he replied.

_Yeah, and so is everything else!_ I thought.

"Oh leave her alone, R'tas," Cortana said. "She's right; she didn't know it was against your customs to help wounded warriors. What could you possibly want from her?"

"I agree with the lady, she's sorry, now let her be. I really don't see what else there is to do about it," Johnson put in.

I had support! I almost smiled at the words from Johnson and Cortana. If anyone deserved the title of new best friend the two of them did. I was, of course, still angry though and knew it was going to take a lot more than the two of them to get me out of this one.

"Be that as it may, justice must still be served," the Ship Master said.

"I am familiar with your punishments, Ship Master and will not allow anything inhuman or unnecessary done to the Corporal. It seems in this matter the Sangheili and Humans are split. I stand with Henson on this matter," Keyes firmly told him and stood up, facing the giant alien, unafraid.

Uh oh! I hope I wasn't going to be the end to the Human and Sangheili alliance! Now that's something that would keep me up at night. I felt the Master Chief tense in his armor at Keyes' threat and could tell he was getting uneasy with the whole business too. I thought about trying to smooth things out by accepting punishment, though I firmly believed I didn't deserve it, when the Arbiter thankfully decided it was his turn to try and solve the situation.

"No need to get so hot blooded, my brother," the Arbiter said and placed a hand in R'tas' shoulder. "Come and speak to me a while. I may have a solution if you will hear me out."

R'tas nodded and the two of them went off to the side, away from us humans, and talked using low tones in their guttural language. Most of us had no idea what they were saying, but Cortana on the other hand gave me one of her sly smiles and became intently interested in the meeting between the two Elites. I figured she knew what they were saying so I watched her face, and was distressed by what I saw in the holographic features.

First of all, whenever the Arbiter would say something to R'tas, and R'tas would in turn obviously reply with an angry and negative response, Cortana's face scrunched up in confusion and then in almost horror at what they were discussing. Eventually, though, her face seemed to retain only the look of horror and shock as the conversation between the two Elites drug on. This made me extremely nervous, I mean, it was _me_ they were talking about and whatever they were saying about me was obviously stressing the AI.

The others noticed it too, but didn't dare ask Cortana what was going on for fear of the Elites finding out she was eavesdropping. I started to nervously tap my foot on the floor. The discussion between the two aliens had gone on quite some time and R'tas had stopped opposing the Arbiter's suggestions. Whatever the Arbiter had had in mind for me seemed to now agree with R'tas. I noticed he kept glancing over my way, sometimes in contemplation and sometimes in disbelief.

"Who decided it was a good idea to let them discuss this without us?" Johnson muttered out loud on purpose. He echoed my thoughts exactly and I considered chancing a question to Cortana who still had the blank look of disbelief painted over her features, but R'tas finally ended the apprehension when he sighed very loudly and nodded to the Arbiter.

He then proceeded to make his way towards me, and soon stood in front of where I was sitting as I cringed away from him, trying to become as small as I could in the seat of my chair. The Master Chief took a step forward, but R'tas held up a four fingered hand, indicating that he meant me no harm.

"Stand up, human," he barked and I jumped to attention, standing stiff legged in front of him. Cortana's expression had now changed to anger as she watched him examine me. I would have given anything to know what was in her mind right now.

He circled me, looking me up and down as well as smelling me. I flinched every time I heard him sniff, hoping I had put deodorant on and then realizing what a stupid thing that was to worry about, but I'm a girl, and we're usually concerned with the way we smell. R'tas then looked me in the eyes, and I forced myself to stare back at him like Commander Keyes had, though all I wanted to do was look away. He grunted after a while and walked back over to the Arbiter.

"Very well, Arbiter, we shall see how your scheme plays out," he told the taller Elite and then faced the group saying, "A decision has been made and it is your only chance to heal the wounds that have been created between our races. You will allow us to take this human medical officer aboard the _Shadow of Intent, _and we will drop all grievances."

"What!" Commander Keyes, Johnson, and I all shouted at the same time. My already shaking knees had now collapsed on me and I was back down in my chair, palms sweating, trying to figure out what he was talking about. They wanted me on board their alien ship? For what? I thought they couldn't stand the sight of me!

"You can't do this, R'tas, she wouldn't survive. Your culture is too different," Cortana snapped at them, obviously knowing why they wanted me on their ship.

"She would learn," the Ship Master replied.

"Whoa wait a second, I don't think I'm understanding this correctly, I thought you just said you hated her guts?" Johnson said.

"Please explain your decision, Ship Master," Keyes said.

"The Arbiter has changed my mind on the matter of your Corporal committing such a terrible crime. He pointed out that we did not lose any of the warriors she assisted and have come out of the battle with more numbers than we expected. Her medical skill has given us a tactical advantage we did not realize we could have. In the face of loosing this war against the Covenant that outnumbers us, I have decided to allow your Corporal to learn how to properly administer medicine to a warrior Elite during a battle in hopes that we can save more," he explained.

"But what about all that crap about your precious honor and how you can't be tainted by a doctor or spill your blood and shit like that? What gave you the big change of heart?" Johnson demanded, earning a stern look from Keyes.

"I have decided to overcome the matter of our honor in order to see if my test will work. Corporal Henson will come aboard our ship, learn our anatomy and ways to heal from our scientists and engineers, and then practice this knowledge. I wish to see how my soldiers will react."

"Well you sure can change your mind real quick about something real big," Johnson muttered.

"I don't see how that's going to work, R'tas. You know your warriors are just going to shun and try to destroy an outsider in their world, especially one who means to destroy their honor," Cortana argued.

"I have considered this and know that you must think I am asking this of your medic simply to punish her and hope she is terminated in the process. I must stress that is not the case. I simply wish her to learn from us so that maybe the other Sangheili will see the wisdom in my plan and accept her. She will be protected, of course. If you wish I will assign a warrior to be with her at all times," R'tas offered.

"Cortana, what do you think?" Keyes said to the AI.

"I think he means it, and I think we can trust him, but I wouldn't let her go. Even if we can trust R'tas, there is no way to be sure we can trust anyone else aboard his ship," Cortana replied, eying the Elites.

"I still don't see how he can change his mind like that so damn fast, it all seems a little iffy to me," Johnson said again.

"The prospect had been in the back of my mind for some time, I had considered it, but the Arbiter has made it clear to me we should try. He has spent more time with you humans than any other Sangheili and knows your doctors save many lives," R'tas said to him. "I am also searching for a peaceful way to end this controversy."

R'tas had laid it all out and there was no more to ask, except for that nagging question in the back of everyone's head, why had he so suddenly change his mind when he had just vehemently expressed his opposition to me helping the wounded Elites? We all looked to Commander Keyes. It was up to her to make the decision, but she turned to me instead and said calmly, "Zoey, it is up to you. This will drastically change your life and I do not wish to make a choice of this magnitude for you when you should do that yourself."

They all watched me, eyes boring into my head as I struggled with all that had happened to me in such a short period of time. I wasn't supposed to be doing this! I was supposed to be miserably sucking at aiming in a shooting range on some for distant and out of the way planet, patching up minor cuts and scrapes with my first aid kit, and serving the UNSC from afar, not the front lines. My life had taken a drastic turn and suddenly I was faced with a major decision, one that a person in my position shouldn't have to make. But what the hell else was I supposed to do? I signed up for this, remember. I dedicated my life to serving others no matter what and I couldn't let them down, no matter how deep in this shit I got. There was no other choice but the obvious.

So even though Cortana was telling me with her eyes that this was a bad idea, even though the Master Chief was tense and uneasy with the situation, and even though Johnson was shaking his head in disbelief, I did what I had to do, I did what Commander Keyes would have done, I agreed to R'tas Vadum's proposal.

"Excellent," the Ship Master said when I had given my answer. "Take some time to gather supplies and then meet us in the hanger. We would like to leave as soon as possible."

"R'tas, there are two matters I would like to address while we are all still here," Commander Keyes put in and she stood, saying, "I would like to send someone with Corporal Henson for at least the first few hours she is on board your ship, and I would like to discuss which one of your warriors is to be assigned to her."

"Very well, I will allow her to be accompanied for a short amount of time, who did you wish to send?"

"The Master Chief and Cortana," she said firmly.

R'tas glanced warily at the stony Spartan and the smug AI and then said, "Agreed."

"I would also like Cortana to choose which of your warriors will be the Corporal's escort. She may do this on board your ship or now, it does not matter to me, as long as I am informed and agree with her decision," Keyes continued.

Cortana smiled and said, "Oh I have just the Elite in mind for that, Commander. I think we should assign to her the one who came up with this idea in the first place, the Arbiter."

I stared at her, wondering if she had decided to hate me after all. The Arbiter, seriously? Didn't she know he didn't like me very much? I was already feeling extremely stressed with the situation, but now I was feeling set up for failure. Commander Keyes then set me a little more at ease when she agreed saying, "Yes, I've fought alongside him and must say he is the only one I have complete trust in."

"I do not have authority over the Arbiter. If this is what you wish it is his decision," R'tas said to us and then turned to the Arbiter saying, "Though I stress that you agree, Arbiter, it appears they will have it no other way."

"Certainly, R'tas, it was my idea after all," the Arbiter replied. _Well, I guess I'm stuck with him then._

"It is decided. We will meet in the hanger soon," R'tas said and nodded to me.

"You are dismissed, Corporal," Keyes said softly.

I then stood on shaky legs, saluted to everyone in the room, and turned, quickly running out the door. I sprinted down the halls as quickly as I could, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to break lose. I didn't want to cry, I had just faced hell and got through without a sniffle, and now my eyes were full of water wanting to poor down my cheeks. I usually wasn't this emotional, but sometimes all that stress and hurt that you've held back for so long just can't be held back anymore. Today had been one of the worst days of my life. I didn't look at this new assignment as an adventure; I looked at it as a punishment that I had to face. _Oh, what was I going to do? How did I get myself into these things! _

**Hi everyone, sorry I hadn't updated this sooner! I was out of town picking up my new pet hedgehog! Also, I may not be able to update again 'till later this week since I have an exam coming up I need to study for. Thanks for continuing the awesome reviews and support!**_  
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	6. Chapter 6: The Shadow of Intent

Chapter 6: The Shadow of Intent

I suppose everyone comes to a time in their lives when the ground feels like it's falling away from their feet. Or like an incredible weight was suddenly dropped on their shoulders; like an inevitable doom was awaiting their approach. I think this was one of those times for me as I walked toward the hanger area, a bag of my effects slung over one shoulder. I didn't even feel this way when I was anticipating a battle. This was worse, far worse than anything, and I couldn't for the life of me find something positive to try and mask the dread.

I had made a mad dash to the medical bay earlier to try and find some human comfort before I was whisked away to live with the aliens. I had found Michelle, my new friend Michelle, who was shocked by the hasty news I spewed at her, that I was going aboard the _Shadow of Intent_. She was walking with me now, mostly for moral support. I needed someone I knew who could give me a thumbs up as I stepped onto the alien transport ship, just so I wouldn't change my mind at the last second.

The two of us approached the alien transport ship, not saying a word because we were unsure of what to say. Commander Keyes was waiting for us along with the Master Chief, with I assumed, Cortana, the two Elites, and Jet. The ODST gave me a little smile when he saw us coming. I wondered what he was doing here.

"Hey, Zoey, I heard about your transfer to the _Shadow of Intent_. Guess I thought I'd come see you off," Jet offered when I was close enough.

"Thanks for coming, Jet. You can join Michelle here in making sure I actually get on the damn ship," I said, trying to find some humor in the bleak situation, but Jet noticed how unhappy I was, I'm not that great at hiding my emotions.

"It's not that bad you know, not like you're going to your death or anything. Just think of it as, I don't know, a holiday or something. You're gonna go chill with some cool aliens, learn some new stuff, stay out of the fighting for a little bit, and then come right back to us," Jet said, trying to cheer me up.

"I hope I'm coming back…that really wasn't made clear to me."

"Don't worry about it; just remember humanity has got your back! Commander Keyes won't let them keep you forever."

I smiled at his efforts, wishing I had more time to get to know him. At least I could count him as a friend. In fact I could count many as friends who I had met on board the _Dawn_, including Fox Company I realized as I was amazed to see the squad I had briefly been a part of approach from behind the transport ship.

"Didn't think we'd let you go without thanking you for helping to patch us up out there during the battle, Corporal," Gunnery Sergeant Pike said as he shook my hand.

"We didn't know you for long, but you sure make a hell of a medic. Make sure you let those aliens know that. Don't let 'em push you around or nothing," Sergeant Calloway added.

The rest of Fox company nodded, shaking my hand and offering encouragement. Even Corporal Dylan wished me luck, though I can't say it was wholehearted.

After one of those small moments of silence where everyone was standing around awkwardly, not sure what else to say, Commander Keyes called me over to where she stood with the Master Chief. "You got everything, Henson?" she asked, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, ma'm," I replied.

"Good, make your final goodbyes and then you should be on your way. The Elites are eager to leave for their ship."

I nodded and turned back to my friends and Fox company. I looked at them all, taking in their faces and features, hoping I wouldn't forget a single detail during my long break from humanity. Michelle came up to me and gave me a hug, wishing me luck. Jet smiled and shook my hand, and Fox company all gave me a salute. I turned towards the massive bulk of the hard and shiny alien transport ship, building up the courage to take the first step, but before I could Commander Keyes stopped me again and shook my hand saying, "I'm proud of you, Henson. Learn well from them, stay strong, and no matter what don't forget you are human and have a place here with us. We will be waiting for your safe return."

I nodded again, not trusting myself with words and walked towards the ship. The Master Chief, who was accompanying me to the _Shadow of Intent_, nodded to Commander Keyes and then followed close behind me. His overwhelming presence gave me the rest of the courage I needed to step up onto the alien transport and begin the next big adventure of my life.

Once on board I turned back and smiled one last time at my friends as the Arbiter and R'tas Vadum also boarded the ship, after exchanging a few words with Keyes, and the doors began to close. I waved, and they waved back, Jet giving me thumbs up, and I prayed I'd see them again soon.

"Take a seat and strap yourself down," the Master Chief advised as the engines started up and the hanger area surrounding the transport cleared in anticipation of the ship's departure.

I did as I was told, looking out the windows as we departed from the _Forward Unto Dawn _and moved out into space towards the _Shadow of Intent_ that loomed menacingly in the distance. I was scared shitless, but tried to look brave, not wanting the Master Chief to see how weak I really was. My knuckles turned white from gripping the edge of my seat and I tried to calm down by turning my thoughts to the interior design of the alien space craft.

Everything was purple, of course. They seemed to like that color, though I couldn't for the life of me take a guess as to why. The walls were made of a particularly glossy metal and all the computers had a type of holographic screen that seemed to respond to touch. I watched this in action as the Elites piloting the ship told it what to do by tapping the holographs. The Arbiter and R'tas were speaking silently to one another on the bridge of the ship, but I could see them from where I was. They kept glancing at me and I wondered what they were talking about.

"So, how're you doing?" asked a female voice and I was surprised to see Cortana standing on a little table next to the Chief and me. I hadn't noticed the Spartan insert her into the ship while I was looking around.

"Not so good," I said, deciding it was better if I was honest.

"Don't worry, just relax. The Master Chief and I will be with you for your first day on board the _Shadow of Intent. _You'll be fine."

"Yeah, while you're there, what happens when you leave," I asked, shuddering. Every time I thought about being alone on the ship with no one around but aliens I didn't know anything about, I started to get scared again and doubt my decision.

"You'll be with the Arbiter, of course," she said.

"Like I know him any better than any other Elite," I pointed out.

"I can vouch for him. The two of us have been through a lot together and I trust him, you should too," the Master Chief said.

"You're doing a good thing, Zoey. No one has attempted to show the Elites our ways since the alliance was formed. No matter what happens, you've already done more than enough to be proud of," Cortana said softly.

I nodded, still unsure, and tried to relax again, which again failed to work. To make things worse the Arbiter chose that moment to walk up to us and join our conversation. I flinched as his towering form stood over us, free of any constraints while I was strapped down firmly in my chair. I noticed the Master Chief was also free of straps. Why was I the only one? I guess they thought I couldn't handle a few bumps and jostles, but I didn't want to argue so I stayed put.

"Observe, we approach the _Shadow of Intent,_" the tall alien announced and I strained my neck to look out the window at the fast closing alien vessel, the Sangheili flagship. It was huge, and had a bulbous looking head attached to a slender neck and then a wide body. It looked almost like a giant purple whale to me.

We were soon entering the hanger of the massive ship, a little too quickly in my opinion, and, as I thought, the entire interior of the _Shadow of Intent_ was purple. What is it with the purple! I should ask the Arbiter when I get the chance. In fact, the inside of the flagship looked very similar to the alien transport, except for the fact that it was way bigger. I guess the Elites didn't really like variety.

The transport came to a jolting stop inside the _Shadow of Intent_ and all of the sudden I was glad I was strapped into my chair or I probably would have gone flying into a wall or something. I wasn't too surprised that the Master Chief and the Arbiter remained steady and on their feet throughout the whole docking process. I didn't think anything could bother them or stop them from doing anything they put their mind too. That kind of worried me since I was going to be stuck with the Arbiter for the whole time I was on board the alien ship. I doubted there was anything he was going to let me get away with. It was going to be just like boot camp all over again, always being told what to do and always earning a disappointed look even though you gave a certain task your best damn effort. There was nothing about this whole ordeal I was looking forward too, but I again reminded myself that I was doing my duty for the UNSC and that I needed to quite griping and accept my orders.

"Commander Keyes, we have safely arrived on board the alien vessel," I heard the Master Chief mutter into his helmet as we waited for the doors to open and let us out onto the noisy floor of the Elite's hanger area. I guess he was ordered to check in with her every once in a while and I didn't know if that made me feel any better or worse. Either Keyes wanted to know how things were going, or she expected trouble and was standing by to come to my rescue, I couldn't be sure.

I soon turned my attention to R'tas Vadum, however, as he motioned to the opening door and said to me, "Welcome aboard the _Shadow of Intent._"

So yeah, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that from the first moment I stepped onto the deck to pretty much the whole rest of the time I was on board the _Shadow of Intent_ my eyes were wide with amazement and my jaw usually hung open with awe at everything I saw. It was a beautiful ship to behold. Not in the way a field of flowers or a bright green forest was, but more like a deep blue stormy ocean or a lithe predator preparing to attack. The _Shadow of Intent_ was alive with alien colors and technology that I had never seen, and yet I knew it was even more deadly than a formidable ship like the _Dawn._ To put it more simply, I was like "dayamn."

"Impressive don't you think?" I heard a deep voice behind my shoulder say and I tore my gaze away from the immensity of the _Intent_ to the Arbiter who was also gazing upon the inside of the ship. "I had hoped you would become distracted by the differences in our ship and yours to better put your mind at ease. I noticed you have been uneasy," he continued.

"You think," I muttered under my breath, hoping he didn't hear that, and nodded in response to his statement. All he had done was make me vow to never let the beauty and strangeness of the _Shadow of Intent_ ever take me off guard.

"Follow me," R'tas said and started off across the large expanse of the hanger towards the deeper interior of the ship. Our small group followed him, and though I stayed as close to the Master Chief and Cortana as I could, I couldn't help but take in every little detail that I saw.

The shiny purple metal on the walls of the starship sometimes reflected our faces, and the neon glowing red, blue, green, and blue lights and holographs glowed in the low light, begging for a closer inspection. I wished I could have the time to look at them all; all the little alien computers and machines that we walked by and all the portals and doors that seemed to hum as I approached them, but R'tas was keeping up a fast pace and I sighed and hoped that if I was going to be stuck here they would at least give me a tour sooner or later.

"See, it's not as bad as you thought," I heard Cortana's voice coming from the Master Chief's external speakers.

"So far," I whispered back. "The ship is amazing, but I haven't met the crew yet."

As if on cue, a group of five Elites were suddenly right in front of us, offering what seemed to me greetings to the Arbiter and their Shipmaster. I was ashamed of myself for it, but I couldn't help but hide behind the Master Chief during the whole meeting. I mean, come on, you'd probably do the same thing in my position. I was like the smallest thing on board the entire ship and was feeling pretty vulnerable. They probably had trashcans bigger than I was!

"Human, come forward and meet my brothers," R'tas demanded of me after he was done talking to his "brothers" in their guttural language. I wasn't sure if they were like his biological brothers or his spiritual brothers, but I was sure the last thing I wanted to do was meet them. But what was I supposed to do, disobey a seven foot tall alien?

I found myself taking a deep breath, grabbing hold of the Master Chief's arm, and dragging him along with me to go and meet these "brothers." As I said, there were five of them. They all wore varying colors of armor from the gold to deep purple, all glowing with lights and colored weapons. They eyed me and suspiciously took a few wary steps back when they saw I had brought the Spartan along. R'tas held up a hand, indicating he meant no harm, and then to my shock and utter horror he grabbed me, pulling me away from the Master Chief, and pushed out in front of him to the waiting Elites.

You can imagine how frightened I was after being yanked from my protector and shoved into the faces of those I wanted protection from. The first thought that ran through my head as the Elite faces were suddenly inches from my own was _oh God they're going to eat me! _And then of course I became quickly flustered with the fact that R'tas had been so rude as the throw me at them without warning. Was this some kind of Elite custom or something? Or did they treat all their new visitors like meat sacks?

After the initial shock it was all I could do but try and control my bladder as the huge mandibles of the first Elite, just inches from my face, breathed on me with that putrid meaty breath they seemed to have. I flinched backwards, but R'tas held me in place and refused to let me move as the rest of the Elites inspected me closely. They finally stepped back away from me after a few terrifying moments had gone by, and as soon as I felt R'tas' four fingered hands release my shoulders I made a beeline for the Master Chief and buried my face in his cold armor. It was a little awkward hugging such a person as a Spartan, but it was a lot less awkward than being smelled by a massive alien you didn't even know. I had to choose the lesser of the two evils in this situation. The Master Chief didn't react to my sudden affection, but he didn't push me away either which comforted me in a strange sort of way. I guess after all I had been through I'd take any kind of comfort, no matter how cold.

"R'tas! What was that about?" Cortana demanded, again speaking from the Chief's helmet. "Chief, insert me into the _Shadow of Intent's_ system, I want to speak to him face to face."

The Master Chief obliged her request and soon the fiery AI was standing with her hands on her hips in plain view of everyone. "Now again, why did you do that to Corporal Henson? You can't treat a human in that way. That is not the way we greet each other in our customs."

"I apologize, but they wanted to test her courage if she is to be staying with us. Sangheili do not like to be in the presence of cowardice. It is insulting," R'tas explained. "She has passed the test. The other generals agree that though she exhibits great weakness compared to our race, she has sufficient courage for her own race."

"Really?" I asked, looking up from the Master Chief. I hadn't expected that, I was sure they were going to write me off as the next meal after I had barely contained myself from doing something embarrassing and had fled back to the Master Chief in terror. I guess they didn't have very high standards for humans here.

"Well I hope you're satisfied," Cortana said. "Next time try to show a little more respect and concern for her. She is new here after all and knows nothing about you."

"Very well, I will keep that in mind," R'tas seemed to sigh. He then changed the subject by indicating the five Elites and saying, "These are a few of my highest ranking officers. Their names are Zhar Zamum, Scal Retonam, Ghel Sesoram, Dar Thelam, and Jira Uduam." Each Sangheili nodded his head when R'tas introduced him, but I can already tell you there was no way I was ever going to memorize those names. Why did these aliens have to be so complicated? I hoped R'tas didn't continue to overwhelm me by giving me their ranks.

Thankfully he decided that was enough introductions and dismissed the group of large Elites after they had conveyed their greetings. They seemed respectful enough, not counting the intense smelling and examination of me earlier, but I could feel some of their hostility towards me as they watched. I didn't think they approved of their commander's decision on bringing a human aboard, especially a female medic. The one called Scal Retonam seemed particularly loathsome of me, and I just hoped that I never ran into any of them in a dark ally. In fact, I began to get the feeling that almost all of the Elites on board the _Shadow of Intent_ hated the sight of me. Every one of them we passed as we continued on our way through the ship seemed to glare at me, except for the noticeably younger ones who looked more curious than angry. Either way they all stared at me, and I couldn't help but remember a time when I was younger and used to dream about being a celebrity or someone important; this was not what I had in mind. I just hoped that maybe things would start to look up as the crew got to know me a little better, but let's face it; I was in for one hell of a time on board the _Shadow of Intent_.

**So, hey readers, how's it going? Sorry it's been so long since I updated, I had so many exams and quizzes that I had to study for so I didn't have much time for anything else. Thanks for hanging in there though, it means a lot!**

**Mysterious Angel-05, that is so awesome that your brother had a hedgehog! Mine's name is Sonic too! Awesome name for an awesome pet! I said "awesome" a lot didn't I? Thanks for loving my story!**

**Happy Halloween to you all if you celebrate it! I will update next week since I have a big family party thing I have to go to this weekend. See you next update! :)**


	7. Chapter 7: A Typical Day for Me

Chapter 7: A Typical Day for Me

The four of us soon made it to the _Shadow of Intent's_ bridge which was located in the center of the ship, unlike on most human ships that had theirs near the front. The bridge was just as fascinating as the rest of the ship, maybe even more so. There were much more computers here than anywhere else and large viewing screens to look out to space with. One of these screens held an image of the all too familiar _Forward Unto Dawn_ and I felt a pang of homesickness when I saw it. There were many other Elites at computer terminals scattered around the bridge and there was a chair of some kind in the middle of the room, probably the Shipmaster's chair. Surprisingly, none of the Elites in the room seemed too concerned I was there. I guess they had all known ahead of time I was coming since they were closest to the Shipmaster and I saw the five I had met earlier were also present. They did stare at me the way every single other alien in the ship had stared at me, though. Cortana soon appeared there as well and seemed to be quite happy exploring the _Intent's_ computer systems and muttering to herself about alien firewalls.

"This is where I will leave you. I need to see to my ship and getting us on course to our next destination. The Arbiter will continue to show you around and then take you to your rooms for some rest later," R'tas said. He then turned away from us and went on his way as if we weren't even there. I would never understand these strange alien customs.

"Come with me," the Arbiter said, once R'tas was thoroughly immersed in something else, and he led the way off the bridge and back into the passageways.

I was rather disappointed about this, I mean I was actually looking forward to seeing how the alien ship worked and we kind of just walked out of the most interesting part of the ship and back to all the scary alien corridors. Way to take me away from the one thing I was excited about on the otherwise terrifying flagship. Thinking on it later though, I realized that this was probably because the Master Chief and Cortana were with me. The Elites didn't seem to want to give away any secrets to these two that they had reserved for me and they were probably wary of what the silent Spartan and smart AI were taking in during their visit. This was, of course, the only disadvantage to having the Spartan around, and as far as I was concerned it was hardly a disadvantage at all compared to how it would be without him.

A perfect example of how useful he was happened right after we had left the bridge. So, the Master Chief and I were following the Arbiter to God knows where, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a dark shadow that seemed to be following us. I at first just blew it off as an Elite going about his business, but anyone would start to get a little uneasy when the shadow didn't eventually leave, but kept following. _Why was I the only one who seemed to notice?_ Maybe it was because I was a little bit more worried for my life at the moment than the other two, or maybe they were trying to appear unsuspicious to throw the follower off, but whatever the case I must admit I really wasn't afraid for my life anymore and felt completely safe after I saw the Master Chief whip around lightning fast and smash the attacking Elite in the face, breaking it's long tough neck in the process.

Other than the short scream that had escaped my throat and the sick sound of bone snapping, there was no other noise from the abrupt fight that had just broken out before my eyes. The Elite that had tried to, I assume, kill me lay dead on the floor. His energy sword that had been glowing blue just moments before was now darkened and his neck lay at an odd angle. The Master Chief stood over his lifeless body, seemingly unaffected, and the Arbiter gazed at the scene from farther back where he had been leading us. He had been quick to turn around when the assassin Elite had charged, but was not fast enough to stop the Master Chief from killing one of his warriors.

I stood dead still behind the Spartan, terrified from the shock of the moment. Someone on board the _Shadow of Intent_ had already tried to kill me. My outlook, though I was starting to feel better about it before, suddenly took a sharp plummet. Sure I was safe now with the deadly Spartan on my side, but when he left…I would be vulnerable again and I'm sure there were other Elites on the ship that felt the same way this one did about me.

A second later Cortana appeared. "Zoey! Are you alright," she asked me, her voice full of concern. I nodded, wishing for the world that she was solid so I could hug her and hide my face in her shoulder. Yeah, sometimes I get a little too emotional.

"He was armed and obviously meant to do your Corporal harm, I am not angry with what has happened, only…disappointed," the Arbiter finally said, walking up to the body and taking the energy sword that lay on the ground.

"Disappointed?" the Chief asked.

"He did not obey his commander. It was ordered that the human was not to be hurt. He has died a dishonorable death, one that no Sangheili should endure. I do not hold any of you responsible," the Arbiter continued.

"This isn't going to happen all the time is it? The Chief and I won't be around to stop it and it sure didn't look like you jumped at the chance to save her life," Cortana continued. I was shocked at the way she talked to the Elite, but then she pretty much talked to everyone however she felt.

"You do not trust I will protect her? I am confused by this. You were the one who chose me for the task," he said, deep voice almost challenging.

"I am only concerned that you may put the life of one of your warriors above hers."

The Arbiter shook his head, "You may be assured that I would not do that. To have her aboard this ship was partly my idea, though I may decide to simply stop an assassin rather than kill him."

"I didn't want to take any chances," the Spartan said.

"Understandable," the Arbiter replied. "I suggest we move on, I need to discuss the situation with the Shipmaster and will leave you in secure quarters where you will be safe for now."

The Master Chief nodded and we walked away, leaving the body of the dishonored Elite where it lay. The Spartan had to nudge me a little to get me to move from where I had been frozen in place, and I stayed as close as I could to him the whole rest of the way knowing that if anything else happened he would risk his life to keep me safe. I was still confused by the whole thing, though. If the Elites felt keeping their honor was so important then why risk losing it? Surely my attacker knew he couldn't take the Master Chief and the Arbiter on by himself. Maybe the thought of being cured by a doctor was so revolting to him that risking a dishonorable death was better than seeing his whole race dishonored by me. I guess if you believe in something strongly enough nothing else matters. Well I certainly strongly believed that as long as I was with the Spartan I was safe, and that as soon as he left I was in deep shit.

* * *

The Arbiter took us down a hall that looked just as purple as all the rest of them and we came to stop in front of a door. He showed me how to unlock the door by placing a hand on the holographic pad right next to it, and then took us inside. This was, apparently, to be my room while on board the _Shadow of Intent_, and let me tell you it was quite a room. The walls were made out of the same purple metal and the room was huge, compared to most human barracks where all you get is a bunk crowded in with a bunch of other marines. There was a flat surface covered in a type of gel looking substance that I assumed was the bed, and there was something that looked like a table and a chair that I could use as a desk. The ceiling was tall, to accommodate Elites, and the room was wide and spacey. Nothing other than the gel looked at all comfortable and I wondered if they had ever heard of blankets and pillows because I was going to need them.

"Does it please you?" the Arbiter asked as the Chief and I finished looking around. "The Shipmaster has promised to provide anything that is missing."

"Well, it could use some pillows and blankets," I said, squishing the gel with my finger. The Arbiter turned his head at this, appearing confused.

"Uh, you know, something to cover myself with when it gets cold and something soft to lay my head on," I explained.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Cortana mumbled. I shot her a dirty look, I really didn't think of myself as a "beggar" in this situation. They wanted me here after all.

"I'll see what I can do," The Arbiter said.

Suddenly I remembered something very important that I hadn't seen since I got here that had been weighing on my mind for some time now. I was a little embarrassed to ask about it, but it was kind of an essential human necessity and I might as well bring it up now while Cortana and the Master Chief were here to help me explain since I wasn't sure how similar Elite and human lifestyles were.

"Um, what about a bathroom?" I blurted, unsure of how else to put it.

Cortana chuckled as the Arbiter again looked confused. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's uh where humans go to…get rid of wastes in the body," I struggled, trying to explain as politely and scientifically as I could.

"We have areas were the cleansing takes place. All on the ship use them," the Arbiter replied.

"Yeah, that's not going to work for humans. Their anatomy is different from yours," Cortana explained after the look of despair crossed my features. "She's probably going to need something more private."

The Arbiter considered this and said, "I see that you are correct. We could perhaps set one of the areas aside just for the human. No others will be allowed entrance."

I nodded, pretty sure I was going to be holding it for as long as I could before daring that, but was resolved to accept anything that was thrown at me. This was a new culture with new rules, I needed to figure out how to adapt fast or fail at my task.

"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. Stay here until told otherwise. It is safest for you in this way," the Arbiter then said. He left the room and the door slid closed behind him with a small chiming sound. As awkward as being around the Arbiter was, I kind of wished he hadn't left because I was feeling extremely awkward just standing there with the Master Chief and Cortana, especially after the previous conversation.

"So, you think you're going to be alright without us?" Cortana asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. I don't really trust the Arbiter fully," I said. "And that attack today really unnerved me. Knowing I was so close to death…"

The Master Chief took something off his belt and handed it to me. It was a small black device that looked like it could be talked into. "That is a distress beacon. If you activate it then I will be notified and come right away to your aid. I hope this will put you at a little more ease. Your allies are never too far away to help you," the Spartan said.

"Only activate if you're in real trouble. We will stop everything and try to get here as soon as we can. It's only for emergencies since R'tas probably wouldn't like it if we were breaking down his doors everyday just because you got a little nervous. If you're in trouble, go to the Arbiter first. I know you said you didn't trust him, but he is sworn to protect you in any way he can. As you probably guessed already, Elites are very honorable and he won't go back on his word," Cortana explained to me.

"Thank you, both of you, for everything," I said running my fingers over the device. "I would be dead let alone petrified, scared, and a hell of a mess if you two hadn't come along to help me."

"Don't mention it," the Master Chief said.

"We just want to make this as easy as we can for you," Cortana added, giving me an encouraging smile. "I know the bed's not great, but you should get a little rest before the Arbiter comes back. You look like you haven't had any in a while."

I nodded and sat down on the "bed," testing it again with my hand. "Would you mind just sitting over here with me while I slept?" I asked the Master Chief.

He nodded and sat down on the bed beside me as I lay down, curling up a little, and tried to get some sleep. I felt better knowing he was near, I felt safer, and in feeling safer I thought I just might be able to sleep. In fact it wasn't long before the fatigue and stress I had gone through during the day took over my body and my eyes grew heavy. I slowly fell asleep with the comfort of the glowing blue light from Cortana and the protective presence of the giant Spartan keeping a watch on the door. Maybe when I woke up things wouldn't seem as bad. Maybe it would start to get better.

**This chapter was a little bit shorter because I am saving a longer one for next time when Zoey starts her life on the Shadow Of Intent without the Master Chief and Cortana. Thank you again for reading! **

**Oh, and to let you know I am kind of making up some of the social and behavioral ways the Elites live since there really isn't any references to that. An example is Zoey's room on the ship. It's purely what I think it would be like and not based off of fact. **

**To Mysterious Angel-05: No, I didn't know it was breast cancer awareness month! Thanks for letting me know! Though that was probably in October right? **

**See ya'll next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: Custom and Honor

Chapter 8: Custom and Honor

Boy was I wrong! Things didn't seem to be getting any better as I woke within the next couple of hours to an abrupt shake from the Master Chief. I at first didn't know where I was, the lights were a dim purple and my back felt weird. My heart skipped a few beats as I looked around wildly, trying to find something familiar, and then saw the Spartan's orange visor bending over me and Cortana in the background…_oh yeah; I'm on an alien ship. _

"What is it?" I asked as I gained my bearings and sat up, shaking my head clear of the grogginess.

"R'tas wants to see you," the Master Chief replied.

_R'tas wanted to see me? What was he gonna do, shove a few more Elites in my face?_ "Right," I yawned, and stood up following the Spartan out of the room and back down the many corridors. He seemed to know his way, though I was just as lost as ever, but I guess a Spartan had to be good at just about everything; glad I'm not a Spartan.

We soon arrived at the _Shadow of Intent's_ bridge again and R'tas was their waiting for us. He eyed me with his piercing stare and nodded with satisfaction. I guess he was glad I was still alive and uninjured; though I can't say I had much hope of remaining that way.

"Corporal Henson, I trust you are enjoying your stay?" he announced loudly across the room, appearing quite pleased with himself for presenting me with such a difficult question to answer.

I decided to play it safe and answered, "Yes, thank you, it's been interesting," though every ounce of me wanted to scream at him that I had _not_ been enjoying it at all.

He snorted, and then came towards me saying, "Please forgive the rudeness my warriors have shown you, especially the shamed one who tried to kill you. They know not what good you could do them and some of them hold too dearly the nature of our honor. They do not accept change very well."

I nodded, not sure of how else to respond. I didn't want to tell him to his face that he needed to keep his Elites under better control, but I also didn't want to lie to him by telling him it was alright that I was continuously being attacked by enraged and very large aliens.

The Arbiter walked in just then and saved me from having to continue the conversation. With the way it was going, someone was going to get offended and if it was R'tas, I was screwed. I don't know how much the Master Chief would do against the Shipmaster, but I guess if it came down to that the Elite and Human alliance would be shattered…whoa, okay, let's not get so far ahead of ourselves now! Like I'd ever let that happen!

"Ah, Arbiter, I am glad you made it in time to see the Spartan off. I was beginning to worry I would be stuck with the Human once they were gone if you didn't show up," R'tas said as the Arbiter walked in, forgetting our conversation for the moment.

It took awhile for his words to actually sink in and register in my brain. It was kind of like someone nonchalantly telling you something horrible which would lead you, being so shocked by what you just heard, to stand there with your jaw hanging open trying to understand the meaning of the words. When they finally did register in my head, I felt my stomach drop and I started to sweat. _The Master Chief was leaving! He just got here! _

"Did you say the Master Chief was leaving?" I nervously asked the Elites.

"Yes, he has been here for the allotted amount of time and now he and the AI must return to the human ship," R'tas replied.

I turned to the silent Spartan searching for answers in the smooth armored helmet and finding none, "How long has it been. It seems like we just got here. I thought you were going to stay longer."

"You slept for a long time. It is true what the Shipmaster said, Cortana and I must return," he said.

"But if it helps any, I think you're ready. You'll do fine," Cortana said, materializing into view.

_Fine_…she had to have been saying that just to make me feel better. There was no way I was going to last, but I guess the time had come when I finally got to show my true worth as a soldier. No more taking cover in the background, it was all me from here on out.

* * *

I soon found myself back in the hanger, staring up at another big alien transport ship, only this time I wasn't getting on it, this time I was staying behind and this time I wasn't happy about it.

The Master Chief and Cortana were thanking R'tas Vadum and the Arbiter for their hospitality. I was watching, waiting for when they would say goodbye to me. I wanted to beg for extending their time here, maybe trade a little more of my life so they could stay longer, hell I even thought of selling my soul if it would keep them here, but instead I remained silent. I watched as the Master Chief finished his goodbyes and approached me. He held out his hand, and this time I wasn't afraid to place mine in his giant palm and give him a handshake.

"Remember the beacon I gave you. I will come if it is activated, but try not to get into anymore trouble," the Spartan said and released my hand.

"Stay sharp and attentive and do what they tell you. There are rules for a reason," Cortana added. "We'll see you in a few months."

"Thank you so much for everything," I said, smiling at them, silently wishing they weren't really leaving me here.

"Our pleasure," the Master Chief replied. He then placed a device into the ship computer and Cortana stepped into it, after which he placed in the back of his neck. He nodded to me once and I again smiled back, then he turned and boarded the transport that would take him back to the _Forward Unto Dawn_. I watched, resisting the urge to join him on the transport and go back myself, as my brave and loyal protector, all clad in ghostly green armor, was soon lost from view and the ship slowly took off and moved out into space.

_Oh shit, here come the waterworks!_ I thought as a couple of small tears trickled down my face. _Come on, stiffen up, they weren't leaving for good_. I would see them again, I could get through this. I was a UNSC marine, and marine's never give up! That was when I heard a strange sound like the clearing of a very long throat from behind me and I turned to see the Arbiter waiting on me.

"Are you well?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why, what's wrong with me?"

"You appear to be leaking."

"Oh, no it's just tears," I said, wiping away the water droplets on my face that had confused him. "Humans leak water out of their eyes when they are sad or get emotional sometimes."

"I see," he said, "Are you upset?"

"Of course I am. I'm here in a strange new place, all by myself, and my two friends have just left me alone. I'm scared, tired, hungry, and have no idea what's going to happen to me within the next hour or the next couple of seconds," I nearly yelled at him, not realizing I must have sounded pretty mad. I didn't mean to take it out on him, he just happened to be around when I felt like it was a good time to vent my feelings.

The Arbiter looked to R'tas, who seemed to shrug and then said to me, "The Spartan is gone and now you can begin learning our ways. You will find there is no time to despair for there is too much to learn. The Arbiter will explain the way the ship works to you. Next cycle you will meet the healer. You are with the Sangheili now, welcome aboard."

* * *

The Arbiter took me away from the hanger as soon as R'tas had left. I was officially in the massive alien's charge now, and he was already beginning to jam Elite culture down my throat. I understand the importance of learning how to avoid pissing giant aliens off, but I was a little upset at the moment and was tiring quickly of being drug around a ship filled with hateful Elites.

The first thing the Arbiter made very clear to me was to simply avoid other Elites for the time being. None of them were used to me, in fact there were a few who still didn't know I was on the ship, and it was going to take some time for them to get used to a human walking down the hallways they used every day.

"When addressing Sangheili, you must show respect or you will be shown none. I will demonstrate," the Arbiter said as he was explaining the proper ways to talk to an Elite. He turned toward me, placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head. He did it very quickly, and then straightened back out to his full height. It appeared to me to be a sign of submission to a higher figure for just an instant before returning to the normal "I could kill you with my eyes closed" stance that all the Elites appeared to have. I just can't get over how prideful these guys are.

He then gestured that I should try, so I did what he had done before. Hand on my chest, bent my head down, and then straightened back out. "How was that?" I asked.

"It will suffice. You cannot possibly perform the greeting with the same grace as a Sangheili, you have not the structure, but most will recognize your efforts."

"Why thank you," I said, grateful that Elites hadn't quite picked up on human sarcasm yet. I personally was glad my neck wasn't almost as long as my body and that I had five fingers instead of only four. Having a mouth that wasn't split up into sections was also a bonus.

The Arbiter nodded and then added to my instructions, "Make sure you do not look the Sangheili in the eye until the bow is complete. Always wait until spoken too. Never speak first."

"I don't ever see you doing this, when you talk to R'tas and the other Elites," I said, curious as to why these rules only seemed to apply to me.

"I am the Arbiter, no rank is higher than the one I hold," he said, surveying me with his glowing orange eyes.

"I didn't know that," I said feeling almost flattered that an Elite so high in command would take the time to help me, but the flattery was short lived when I realized what he was really saying, _oh so I have to do it because I am inferior to everyone else on the ship!_ I would think they should have to bow to me; I was their guest after all and here to help them by my choice.

The Arbiter must have seen the anger in my eyes and tried to explain. "This is only for your safety. If you appear to think you are better or have authority over those who are stronger than you, it could be dangerous."

"But you believe I am less than you or any other Elite because I am human," I replied, a scowl deepening on my face.

"It matters not what I believe. You are here and charged to me. I must do all I can to keep you from harm."

I sighed and gave it up. He hadn't said he thought I was inferior, but he hadn't said he didn't either. It still made me fighting mad and I wasn't happy, but I wasn't looking to get killed either. I told myself I'd find some way to earn some respect around here, but maybe I should get to know them before I made myself look like a dumbass and put an even larger gap between us.

The Arbiter started to lead me off again, but paused before continuing and turned back to me. "One other thing that I have noticed that must be corrected; you must never use the word "elite" again when referring to us. We are the Sangheili. The word "elite" is a degrading name that was given to us by your species early in the war. To call us this is an insult that I cannot bear further."

_Well sorry! _I thought. That was what I had always called them and heard them called before. It seemed like everything I did, even the way I think, was wrong here on the _Shadow of Intent_. What was I supposed to do? Leave everything that made me human behind? Yeah I realize I must sound like a dick right now, bitching about every little thing this guy was trying to teach me. I know he's only trying to help, but I was stressed and had just lost my Spartan. I suppose I was trying to replace the feelings of terror and dread that kept trying to creep up in my chest with anger and defiance. So I took some deep breaths and followed the Arbiter as he led me to another part of the ship. I was grateful he had turned around and started to walk away before he saw my little tantrum of anger playing across my face.

As we walked I noticed we were drawing closer and closer to an area of the ship that seemed to be louder than the rest. The Sangheili didn't seem to say much generally and were pretty much a quiet bunch except for the occasional loud disagreements I had heard between them, but throughout the halls we were in now I could hear many sounds of their voices. It was in the form of grunt, yells, and cries, but I hadn't heard this many of them together in one place except in battle.

"What is all that noise?" I asked the Arbiter.

"Would you like to see?" he said, stretching his neck around to look at me.

"Yes."

"Then I will show you."

He led me closer and pretty soon I was amazed to see we had entered what looked like a Sangheili training ground. There were all sorts of them, tall, broad, dark, and light with various kinds of weapons practicing for battle…or maybe even for fun. Their loud cries of hurt and victory resounded throughout the room.

"This is where we train. It is important to exercise your skills, even in the limited space of the ship," the Arbiter said. "There are many weapons here, but since this is a training area it is permitted. Otherwise, to draw a weapon in our culture demands blood must be spilled. We never do so unless we mean to do battle."

"I guess that's kind of the same as with humans, but we don't have such strict rules about it," I observed, caught up in the moment of the dueling Sangheili. It was fascinating to watch then move. They had such grace and poise that I hadn't noticed before as they seemed to dance across the floor. I had never seen them fight before. The first battle I had been in with them was the one on Epsilon 7, but there I had only seen them wounded in the dirt, never fighting.

My attention was captured by two younger looking Sangheili off to one side of the room. They were wielding the bright blue energy swords that seemed so popular with their race. I watched as they swayed and dipped, avoiding each other's blades while trying to find an opening to strike. The dazzling blue lightning like energy of the blades pulsed and sparked when the swords met and then separated seconds afterwards. They were so quick and light. The taller of the two seemed to have the edge as he leaped out of the way of the smaller one and tried for a quick slice on his back. Surprisingly, the smaller one spun quickly around on his large hoof-like feet and blocked the blow with phenomenal speed. They then faced off again, breathing heavily and pacing in circles, the muscles of their thick hind legs full of power and ready to spring into action. When they finally did attack each other again it was so fast my eyes almost missed it. They came together, and then were suddenly apart, the taller Sangheili flat on his back while the smaller held his sword inches from the other's neck. He then turned off his blade with a flick of his wrist and helped his opponent up. They faced each other, bowed, and then parted ways.

"A fight with honor, they were equally matched, but one took the advantage the other did not see and so came to victory," the Arbiter observed after noticing the fascination I had with the duel.

"It was beautiful. Like a storybook battle between the old Samurai warriors we used to have on Earth a long time ago," I said.

"The elegance of the blade has not been lost to us as it has with your kind….would you like to learn it?" the Arbiter asked me, his deep voice sincere.

I looked at him, surprised that he would offer to teach me something the Sangheili held sacred and I considered turning him down, but I was too entranced by the beauty of the sword and the fantasy it gave me. I was here to learn anything I could after all, right?

"I'd love to," I replied.

The Arbiter nodded, "I will see what can be done. Come, there is more for you to see and learn."

I followed him out of the room and noticed many of the Sangheili who had been engrossed in battles before were now finishing them and realizing that I was there. I felt their many eyes boring into my flesh as they must have been wondering who I was and what a human was doing here, watching them. Despite the exciting and peaceful moments I had had before while seeing them practice, I was now becoming nervous again as they watched me follow the Arbiter out the door. Would I ever be accepted into their world, a world that I was slowing growing an appreciation for? I didn't think so.

**So I've been busy and I'm sorry to say I've got another rotten exam coming up that I'm going to have to devout most of my time studying for. I'd much rather be writing this story! I probably won't be able to update again until Wednesday, but don't worry, I will as soon as I can!**

**Some comments I'd like to make to some of the reviews I recently got:**

**Hawk531 - no I don't have writers block, at least not yet and I hope I don't ever get it! I've got some good ideas for this story, I just need to find time around my busy schedule to post them.**

**Mysterious Angel-05 - Yeah, I know she's supposed to be with Gravemind, but like I said before, this story is a little AU because of that. I really wanted her in my story as well as the Master Chief and the Arbiter, but it's kind of hard to find a time frame where all three of them could fit!**

**ilmiopassato - thank you for all the helpful advice! I will keep it all in mind as I continue writing and I am definitely not planning on making this story too fangirly. **

**Thanks to all readers for the reviews! They always brighten my day! :D**


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